Despite significant pushback on Ledger’s device seed recovery tool, the cryptocurrency hardware wallet company anticipates the launch of Ledger Recover in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Leading cryptocurrency hardware wallet provider, Ledger, is advancing towards the rollout of its proposed feature enabling users to backup and recover Ledger device seeds.

Charles Guillemet, Ledger’s Chief Technology Officer, utilized Twitter on June 21 to announce the public release of the Ledger Recover white paper, marking an important milestone for the hardware wallet firm.

Launch Anticipated in Q4 2023

Guillemet indicated that the impending service, to be delivered by digital asset security company Coincover, is on track for a Q4 2023 launch. He emphasized that the new service has been designed to be “100% secure”. Guillemet invited users to understand the technical aspects of the service by accessing the white paper.

Technical Overview of Ledger Recover

Hosted on GitHub, the Ledger Recover white paper offers an in-depth, 34-page technical overview of Ledger’s solution for hardware wallet seed backup and restoration.

The Ledger Recover repository outlines three fundamental workflows: seed backup, restoration on a new device, and secure deletion of backups. Further details on Ledger Recover’s system architecture and cryptographic protocols are included in the document.

Focus on Self-Custody

One proposed method is to distribute the seed into shares using Shamir backup, a well-known private key distribution technology. The white paper clarifies that without the required number of shares, no information about the seed can be deduced.

The emphasis of the white paper is on the fact that users can independently operate the protocol, demonstrating Ledger’s commitment to self-custody and flexibility.

Controversy and Criticism

Ledger’s seed recovery tool has not been without controversy. Introduced in May 2023, Ledger Recovery offers an optional subscription for users looking to backup their secret recovery phrase, according to Guillemet.

Several industry insiders, including Mudit Gupta from Polygon Labs, highlighted potential security risks with Ledger Recovery. He expressed concern over encrypted key parts being sent to three corporations, which could potentially reconstruct the keys. Binance’s founder and CEO, Changpeng Zhao, also raised doubts over the tool’s benefits, questioning the device’s new direction of allowing seed data to exit the device.

In response, Guillemet maintained that the new seed recovery solution would not impact Ledger devices’ security. He urged developers, researchers, and crypto enthusiasts to delve into the white paper to fully understand the wallet’s safety protocols.