Ledger, a leading hardware cryptocurrency wallet provider, is expanding its cryptocurrency purchasing options within its app through a new partnership with Uphold’s Topper.
Ledger has integrated the fiat-to-crypto on-ramp Topper by the United States Web3 financial platform Uphold, the firms announced on Sept. 26.
The integration brings a new crypto-buying option to Ledger’s software, Ledger Live. The application currently features 14 providers offering on-ramp services through the Buy section, Ledger’s vice president of international development, Jean-François Rochet, told Cointelegraph.
“Some partners focus on localized solutions, while others take a global approach. This creates a balanced mix of both local and global offerings for our users,” Rochet noted.
Ledger has 14 on-ramps and only one off-ramp solution
Crypto on-ramps and off-ramps refer to fiat money exchanges into cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and backward, bridging the crypto market with the traditional financial system.
For example, by applying Topper’s on-ramp solution on Ledger Live, users are able to buy Bitcoin with a fiat currency like the US dollar and store it directly on the Ledger’s hardware wallet.
Crypto on-ramps versus off-ramps. Source: B2BinPay
According to Rochet, Ledger has significantly fewer off-ramp solutions than on-ramp ones, meaning that users have more methods to buy crypto than to sell it on Ledger’s interface.
“At the moment, we have one partner offering off-ramp services, but we are actively working to onboard additional partners to expand fiat, crypto, and geographical coverage,” Rochet told Cointelegraph on Sept. 25.
Limited availability of off-ramp options on Ledger is due to the complexity of off-ramp integrations, the exec said, noting that such implementations “require signing transactions on the device using clear signing capabilities.”
Ledger integrated its first on-ramp and off-ramp partner, Coinify, in 2020, Rochet mentioned.
Topper plans to launch off-ramp in Q4 2024
Since launch in 2023, Topper has expanded support to 228 crypto assets and has integrations with 36 networks, Uphold Enterprise’s Topper CEO Robin O’Connell told Cointelegraph.
According to O’Connell, Topper plans to launch the off-ramp in the fourth quarter of 2024 and expects to make it available for its partners as soon as they can add it to their roadmaps.
“Topper currently supports 150 countries,” the executive noted, adding that the platform is actively integrating new local payment methods to better serve countries with high crypto adoption rates.
One such implementation was Topper’s integration with Pix in July 2024, which is the bank transfer introduced by the Central Bank of Brazil.
How do Ledger and Topper deal with KYC?
Since Ledger operates a hardware wallet, a self-custodial storage solution, its wallet doesn’t require Know Your Customer (KYC) identification for transactions by default. However, KYC checks are necessary for on-ramps and off-ramps operated by providers like Topper.
“We aim to make the onboarding experience for the user as light and quick as possible,” O’Connell said, adding:
“Our goal is to increase crypto adoption and provide ease of access while performing our due diligence to validate users. Our KYC process is quick and our transaction approval rating is the highest amongst other onramp providers.”
While Ledger doesn’t require KYC verification, the wallet operates identity verification on its private key recovery tool known as Ledger Recover.
“Identity verification inherently collects much less information compared to KYC,” Ledger said on its FAQ page, noting that Ledger Recover’s ID verification only requires a valid government-issued document.
On the other hand, KYC checks on other platforms typically involve ID verification, but they can also include revenue information, records of criminal activity, citizenship checks and other details.
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