Ledger co-founder released after days in captivity in France: Report

David Balland, co-founder of the French cryptocurrency hardware wallet manufacturer Ledger, was released following a harrowing kidnapping incident, according to a statement from the Paris prosecutor’s office cited by Bloomberg.

Balland was abducted from his home in central France during the early hours of Jan. 21. He was held captive until a police operation on the night of Jan. 22 secured his release. 

The kidnappers had demanded a ransom in cryptocurrency.

Ledger was established in 2014 by Balland and others. The devices are designed to keep users’ private keys offline, thereby safeguarding digital assets from online vulnerabilities. 

The company, which raised 100 million euros ( $109 million) in 2023, now boasts a valuation of 1.3 billion euros ($1.42 billion) and employs about 700 people.

Notably, Ledger operates a manufacturing facility in Vierzon, France, where Balland served as site director from 2019 to 2021. Post-release, Balland is was receiving medical attention, authorities confirmed.

Ransomware gangs extorted over $1.1 billion in cryptocurrency payments from victims in 2023, according to data from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.

Related: Uniswap Labs to integrate API with Ledger Live for DeFi swaps

Crypto community reacts

This came amid widespread rumors circulating on social media on Jan. 22 about the potential kidnapping of a Ledger executive. The rumors lacked concrete evidence until this confirmation. 

On Jan. 22, former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao took to X to express concern over the situation without committing to any specific details and later deleted his tweet. 

Zhao acknowledged rumors of a potential ransom scenario but admitted, “Not sure what is true for now.”

Jameson Lopp, chief technology officer and co-founder of Casa, a self-custody service, posted on X, referring to the situation as “unconfirmed rumors.”

“We have no reliable info on what has transpired, though Ledger’s silence makes my spidey sense tingle. I suspect that there is an ongoing incident involving an undisclosed person,” said Lopp.

Ledger’s product line

Currently, Ledger’s baseline offerings — the Nano series — are the company’s best-selling product line. However, the company has also been focusing on offering high-end touchscreen devices, such as Ledger Flex and Ledger Stax, to users eyeing self-sovereignty and financial freedom.

As of 2024, Ledger had sold over seven million hardware wallets, none of which have ever been hacked, the company claims.

Cointelegraph reached out to Ledger but did not receive any response at the time of publication.

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