Hardware cryptocurrency wallet manufacturer Ledger is starting to feel the sting of a slower market. Along with the extended bear market, the company has reported that delays in production of the Nano X wallet are forcing it to reevaluate its current staffing levels and that it will most likely have to let as much as 10% go in the near future. The company employs around 200 employees.
When Bitcoin Core (BTC) was at its hottest, in 2017, Ledger sold more than 1 million wallets. The company’s CEO, Eric Larcheveque, points out that sales are still “good,” but the evidence seems to indicate that there may be struggles behind closed doors that the company doesn’t want to reveal.
Ledger isn’t just looking at an extended bear market. It has been feeling the ire of the crypto community, partly due to the unnecessary bashing of the competition, as well as several glitches with its wallets.
Late last year, Ledger pushed out an update to the Nano S wallet that limited the number of installed apps to two or three. This was met with a considerable amount of animosity from users, who took to social media to voice their frustrations. They argued that the update made the Nano S virtually obsolete and tried to force customers to upgrade to the Nano X. However, as was revealed later, an upgrade to the Nano X wouldn’t have made them any happier, as serious production quality issues surfaced with an entire batch of initial units being unable to perform their jobs. Ledger was forced to reject the wallet, resulting in delays in the rollout.
On March 21, the company said on Twitter, “Due to unexpected production issues at the last minute, we’re deeply sorry to tell you that the Ledger Nano X shipment will be delayed for at least 1 month. We’re doing all we can to ship them as soon as possible and will keep you posted.”
At the recent MIT Bitcoin Expo, Ledger launched an unprovoked attack on Trezor, which was received by the crypto community as childish and irresponsible. For a company that is supposedly helping users secure large sums of money, being childish and irresponsible is not a way to win over consumers.
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