Who Ledger Enterprise is
Ledger Enterprise is the institutional platform of Ledger, the company founded in Paris in 2014 and known for its hardware wallets. It keeps keys in hardware security modules (HSMs) and puts governance around them: each account has rules that set who approves a transaction, in which order and up to which amount, and people approve on Ledger devices that show the real details of what they sign.
Banks, custodians, exchanges, asset managers and fintechs use it to hold their own assets or their customers' in self-custody, and it is SOC 2 Type 2 certified. Approvals enforced in hardware are why it is one of the custody providers our module connects to.
What it does in your platform
Custody & wallets
Keeps the keys for your hot, warm and cold wallets in Ledger's HSMs, with an account and deposit address per customer created through its governance. A withdrawal reaches Ledger Enterprise only after the module's limits, screening and approvals, and is approved again under the account's rules before the HSM signs it.
How the connection works
The module acts in Ledger Enterprise as an API operator: an operator with its own key, admitted only once your administrators' quorum approves it. Ledger Enterprise reports events back by webhook.
An account per customer
The module requests a new account for the customer and chain. Once governance approves it, the account's trusted address becomes the customer's deposit address.
A deposit arrives
Webhooks report the incoming transaction as it is confirmed, and the account balance as it updates.
Screened and credited
The module screens the deposit and credits the customer, and the movement appears in the backoffice.
A withdrawal request
After your limits, screening and approvals, the module creates the transaction request in Ledger Enterprise, signed with its operator key.
Rules and quorum
The account's rules apply: the approvers they name, step by step, each step with its quorum, whether people on Ledger devices or the module's API operator.
Signed and reconciled
Once approved, the HSM signs and the transaction is broadcast. Webhooks report each step, and the module reconciles it with the chain.
Next to other providers
Ledger Enterprise is one of the custody providers the module runs on, next to the others in its group and your own MPC or HSM setup. The module's limits, screening and approvals stay the same whichever provider signs, and Ledger Enterprise's hardware-enforced rules add a second layer your administrators control.
Moving to another provider later, or to your own HSMs, means moving the funds and giving customers new deposit addresses. Your apps stay the same, and every past movement stays in your records.
When Ledger Enterprise fits best
A strong fit when
- You want keys in HSMs and approvals signed on devices that show exactly what is being approved.
- You hold your customers' assets in self-custody and want governance enforced in hardware as well as in the module.
- You may want the signing HSM in your own data centre one day, with Ledger's on-premise option.
Also worth a look
- An MPC platform such as Fireblocks or Cobo, if your team prefers key shares to HSMs.
- A custodian that holds the keys for you, such as BitGo, if your licence or your clients ask for one.
How we get you live
The contract
We help you get your Ledger Enterprise account and contract in place, with the workspace and the networks you need.
Rules and operators
We set up the account rules with you, who approves, in which order and up to which amount, and register the module as an API operator for your administrators to approve.
The keys
The API operator's key and credentials go into your platform's secrets and nowhere else, and the signing keys stay in the HSMs.
A full test run
We run the whole flow before launch, a deposit, a withdrawal through the rules and the reconciliation, starting with small amounts.
