Hardware wallet maker Ledger announced that it is integrating with Coinbase, allowing Ledger users to purchase digital assets using the cryptocurrency exchange's Coinbase Pay as a direct onramp.
The introduction of Coinbase Pay into the Ledger Live app should benefit Ledger users, according to a press release seen by CoinDesk, making it easier for users to receive their cryptocurrency purchases from Coinbase directly on their Ledger hardware wallet, without any additional fees.
Crypto purists have often argued that for a person to truly own their crypto assets, they must be self-custodial, but this integration shows that centralized exchanges still have power in an industry that pays its users to store their private keys.
This is not Ledger's first integration with a cryptocurrency market or exchange, said Ian Rogers, chief experience officer at Ledger. Other integrations include Moonpay, Ramp, and Trasank, Rogers told CoinDesk.
“There are 5.3 billion internet users, 5 billion social media users, 500 million cryptocurrency owners, and there are about 10 million people in safekeeping,” Rogers told CoinDesk in an interview. “And that's a very small number. So for us, things like this are about reinforcing that narrative.”
