Ledger faces criticism over new fee-based transaction model
Date: 2025-10-27 Author: Henry Casey Categories: BUSINESS
Ledger unveiled a business solution called Ledger Multisig alongside the launch of the new Nano Gen5 device and the renaming of its Ledger Live app to Ledger Wallet. The new feature was billed as a step toward improving security and convenience for enterprise clients, but community reaction was extremely negative.
Multisig technology was Ledger's first built-in system, allowing transactions to be combined through an internal backend, without the need for third-party tools like Specter or Sparrow. However, immediately after the pricing was announced, user enthusiasm turned to outrage.
According to the company's website, in addition to standard network fees, wallet owners must pay an additional "service fee." This fee consists of two elements:
- a fixed fee of $10 for any transaction except token transfers;
- a variable fee of 0.05% of the transaction amount. The situation became even more confusing after CTO Charles Guillemet described Ledger Multisig as "free." He later acknowledged this was a "wording error." Guillemet explained that the fees reflect the costs of infrastructure, auditing, and the multi-layered security required for the service to operate reliably.
However, many users perceived the new model as an attempt to monetize security. Blockchain researcher pcaversaccio claimed that Ledger is turning multisig into a "cash cow," creating a constant source of income at the expense of users.
A developer from the Avalanche ecosystem known as Sarnavo noted that a feature originally designed to enhance trust has now become a "paywall for security." He also drew attention to the closed-source nature of the Ledger app, which, in his view, reduces transparency.
"Security shouldn't be a constant source of monetization," Sarnavo emphasized.
This situation has once again raised questions about trust in the hardware wallet manufacturer. As a reminder, Ledger stopped releasing updates for the Nano S model this summer, citing the device's limited technical capabilities. This decision also sparked controversy among wallet owners concerned about the long-term security of their funds.
Thus, Ledger's attempt to expand its business through enterprise solutions has resulted in a loss of credibility. The community sees the new model not as a concern for security, but as the company's desire to extract additional profit from users' basic transactions.
