Yesterday, the ability to connect the Coinbase wallet to the Nano Ledger was officially announced.
It's a big day. We've joined forces with @coinbase to offer secure self custody to @CoinbaseWallet users, in order to make your #Web3 experience as seamless and secure as possible. 💪
🔗 https://t.co/J6gRoJHdMj pic.twitter.com/OCUhRsdJCG
— Ledger (@Ledger) February 22, 2022
So now Coinbase users can protect their tokens and NFTs using Ledger hardware wallets thanks to the Coinbase Wallet browser extension that adds support to these types of wallets.
Summary
Connecting Coinbase Wallet and Ledger
Linking the Coinbase wallet with Ledger Nano X or Nano S keeps private keys offline, thus raising the level of security.
Coinbase Wallet is a self-custody wallet not to be confused with the Coinbase.com exchange, which is a different matter. In fact, it is not necessary to have an account on Coinbase.com to use Coinbase Wallet.
Using Ledger hardware wallets with the Coinbase Wallet browser extension therefore provides a higher level of security when using this extension.
Ledger’s goals
Ledger’s VP Product, Charles Hamel, said:
“This new feature gives Coinbase users a world-leading security option and peace of mind when holding their crypto and NFTs”.
The Ledger hardware wallets not only support cryptocurrency tokens, but also NFTs.
The goal of the two companies is to enrich the user experience in the crypto sector by providing a secure gateway to the Web3.
The security problem
Recently, it has also become apparent that centralized platforms such as OpenSea can be the victims of attacks even without any real technical vulnerabilities.
Security is probably one of the uncovered nerves of the crypto sector, despite the fact that secure solutions are already available.
The problem is that on the one hand these solutions are often much more difficult to use than those provided by centralized intermediaries, and on the other hand the single biggest point of vulnerability is often the user himself, and not the technologies he uses.
Web3 will only achieve mass adoption if the problem of secure asset custody is resolved or at least reduced to the point where it is no longer systemic.
The hybrid solution
Hardware wallets are probably by far the preferred solution for most cryptocurrency holders who want to increase their level of security in storing their crypto funds, but they are also more inconvenient to use than online solutions. It is possible that a mix of the two options could be a significant step forward, especially for those with significant volumes of crypto funds.
