The Block: Ledger adds ERC-20 (Maybe DeFi) To Support Ledger Live App

Ledger, the cryptocurrency custody service provider, is adding ERC-20 token support to its native Ledger Live app.

Previously, users on Ledger’s hardware wallets and Ledger Live could only store ERC-20 tokens but were unable to send and receive them. To interact with their tokens, Ledger users had to connect their wallets with third-party apps like MyEtherWallet or MetaMask.

With its new software update, Ledger Live will offer direct support for over 1,250 ERC-20 tokens. “Adding ERC20 tokens gives us the ability to support over 1,250 new assets, including stable coins. Ethereum is the second biggest blockchain in the crypto world, a lot of tokens are in the top 100 of the Crypto market cap, so this has always been on our roadmap,” Benjamin Arama, Ledger Live’s Product Manager tells The Block.

On concerns that Ledger’s customers may have grown accustomed to using third-party apps when interacting ERC-20 tokens, Arama tells The Block that he believes a single app to manage multiple accounts and assets will be a more convenient experience than the friction-filled process of using something like MyEtherWallet with Ledger’s hardware wallet. “Having everything in one place makes for a more seamless user experience,” he added.

Arama also notes that Ledger plans to offer more “useful services” for its users such as DeFi support, adding that “lending on Compound through our [Ledger’s] platform is one of the options among other innovative ones we’re currently exploring.”