The Ledger Blue is a cryptocurrency hardware wallet launched in December 2016. It is no longer available from the Ledger website and is exclusively available for Ledger Enterprise customers.

It boasts a 3.5-inch full-colour touchscreen and is marketed as the most advanced cryptocurrency hardware wallet on the market.

However, at over twice the cost of the Ledger Nano S, is it worth it? In this Ledger Blue review, we’ll dive into everything you need to know about this hardware wallet so you can decide if it’s the right choice for you.

In this Ledger Blue review, we’ll cover:

Advantages & Disadvantages

Advantages

Makes it easy to protect all your cryptocurrency.

Supports lots of popular cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), & Ripple (XRP).

The 3.5-inch full-colour touchscreen is great.

Wallet interface (Ledger Live) is beginner-friendly.

Ledger is a reputable company, which has raised $75 million from investors in 2018.

Disadvantages

Expensive hardware wallet (approx. £245).

Larger than alternatives (97mm x 68mm x 10mm), which is about the size of my palm.

Bluetooth enabled, but no apps appear to use it.

What is a Ledger Blue?

The Ledger Blue is a premium cryptocurrency hardware wallet which allows you to easily and securely store your cryptocurrency. It was released in late 2016 but discontinued a few years later.

Since its release, it’s sold over 10,000 units. In stark contrast, the Ledger Nano S has sold over 1.3 million units. As we’ll touch on later, that’s probably because the Ledger Blue has a premium price attached to it.

“Ledger Blue is the most advanced hardware security gear on the market. It boasts multi-application execution and packs enterprise-level crypto-capabilities into a lightweight handheld device designed and crafted in France. It is architected around a Secure Element, featuring a touchscreen and USB connectivity” (Source)

The Ledger Blue works by generating and isolating private keys (for the coins supported) on the device. Private keys are extremely sensitive information. If your private keys were leaked, your funds wouldn’t be safe. Hardware wallets like the Ledger Blue prevent that from happening.

When you want to send cryptocurrency, hardware wallets like the Ledger Blue will require that you physically confirm all the details of the transaction on the Ledger Blue’s screen. Malware couldn’t steal your cryptocurrency unless you accidentally authenticated it on the Ledger Blue.

Hardware wallets are well-recommended by the crypto-community as they’re convenient and simple to set up and use. Although it’s possible to secure your cryptocurrency without a hardware wallet, it can be overwhelming if you’re a beginner or aren’t computer literate.



Supported Coins

The Ledger Blue currently lots of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Litecoin (LTC). Through MyEtherWallet or MyCrypto, the Ledger Blue also supports every ERC-20 token.

As evidenced here, the Ledger Blue doesn’t support as many cryptocurrencies as the Ledger Nano S. While the Ledger Nano S received more and more cryptocurrency support, the Ledger Blue isn’t feeling the love.

What’s in the Box?

Here’s what’s in the box:

Ledger Blue

Protective Bag (for the Ledger Blue)

1m microUSB to USB Cable

Instructions

3x Recovery Sheet

You’ll also find this in the box, which explains why there’s no anti-tamper seal on the box or device.

I’m happy they included a protective bag with the device. It protects the Ledger Blue when you’re not using it, but also makes this hardware wallet a little less conspicuous.





Getting Started

It doesn’t take long to setup the Ledger Blue.

Just head over to ledgerwallet.com/live and download Ledger Live, which is an all-in-one desktop app that helps you manage your hardware wallet.

Once that’s installed, launch Ledger Live and follow the on-screen instructions. It’ll walk you through the whole setup process. There’s a video setup guide here if you need it.

During setup, you’ll be asked to setup a PIN. Here are some tips:

You can set a PIN which is up to 8 digits long.

Don’t use a sequence.

Don’t repeat numbers.

Make it unique/different from other PIN codes you use.

It’s also really important that you keep your recovery seed private and secure:

If someone else copies or steals it, your cryptocurrency funds are at risk.

If you lose your device, you can’t recover your cryptocurrency funds without the recovery seed.

As long as your PIN and recovery seed are secured, the loss or theft of the device itself doesn’t matter. If someone incorrectly guesses the PIN 3 times, the device will be wiped too.



Design

The Ledger Blue is the largest (97mm x 68mm x 10mm) and heaviest (90g) hardware wallet I’ve tested. It doesn’t look or feel cheap.

It’s about the size of my palm (or an old iPod touch). Although it’s not as compact as alternatives, it still fits in my pockets.

Hardware Wallet Size Weight Ledger Blue 97mm x 68mm x 10mm 90g Ledger Nano S 98mm x 18mm x 9mm 16g Trezor One 60mm x 30mm x 6mm 12g Trezor Model T 64mm x 39mm x 10mm 16g

The Ledger Blue has a 3.5-inch full-colour touchscreen. It’s responsive and makes authenticating transaction details much easier. The touchscreen is definitely a step-up from the Ledger Nano S or Trezor One.



Wallet Interface

Back in 2017, you had to manage your cryptocurrency wallets through multiple Chrome-based (or external) apps. It was a clunky system, but it worked without issue.

Ledger has now launched Ledger Live, which is an all-in-one desktop application which allows you to manage many different cryptocurrencies from a single application. Ledger Live makes setting up and using the Ledger Blue more approachable for beginners It’s grown into more and more of an all-in-one dashboard, but it’s still not as smooth as Trezor’s software.

You can find tutorials and documentation for every cryptocurrency supported by the Ledger Blue here.



Additional Features

Like the Ledger Nano S, the Ledger Blue can be used as a FIDO U2F (Universal 2-Factor) device. This adds an extra layer of security to some of your online accounts (e.g. Dropbox, Google, & GitHub).

The Ledger Blue also allows you to setup a second (hidden) wallet which is attached to your main wallet. This is awesome to have but is an advanced feature (i.e. use with caution). You can find more details here.

Ledger Blue Price

The Ledger Blue used to be available on the official website for about £254 / €286 (incl. VAT & shipping). However, it is no longer available for sale to the general public.

In the table below, you can see how the Ledger Blue compares to the most popular hardware wallets on the market.

Ledger Nano S vs Ledger Blue

Honestly? The Ledger Blue just seems like a dressed-up version of the Ledger Nano S.

Apart from the full-colour (320 x 480px) touchscreen, the Ledger Blue and Ledger Nano S don’t seem that different.

The touchscreen is a significant upgrade. It’s the equivalent of moving from an old-school Nokia to an iPhone. It makes entering your PIN and authenticating transactions much smoother.

However, despite claims that the Ledger Blue is their flagship product, it supports fewer cryptocurrencies than the Ledger Nano S. And even though it has Bluetooth support, I couldn’t find any apps that utilised it (which also makes the battery redundant).

I found numerous threads in /r/LedgerWallet from frustrated buyers too. Here’s just one…

I wanted to like the Ledger Blue, but I wouldn’t recommend it over the Ledger Nano S.



Alternatives

The Ledger Nano S and Trezor are both popular, well-recommended, and affordable hardware wallets. Of these two, I prefer the Ledger Nano S.

If you’re dead-set on getting a premium hardware wallet, then I’d recommend you check out the Trezor Model T. It’s the follow-up to the Trezor One and features a full-colour touchscreen (240 x 240px).

The Trezor Model T also runs on a different firmware to the original Trezor, dubbed ‘Trezor Core’. This should make it easier for the Trezor Model T to support more cryptocurrencies and add functionality. They’ve already added support for Monero (XMR) and Ripple (XRP) which are not currently supported on the cheaper Trezor One.

Check out our Trezor Model T review to learn more about it.

Want some other options? Check out these other reviews:

Summary: Is the Ledger Blue Worth It?

Let’s round off this Ledger Blue review: is it really worth the extra money?

Even though it has a great touchscreen which makes it easier to check your transactions, I don’t think that alone makes the Ledger Blue worth the money.

Here are my issues with the Ledger Blue:

It has received fewer development and security updates than the Ledger Nano S.

It is no longer available to the general public.

It supports fewer cryptocurrencies than the Ledger Nano S.

It’s Bluetooth enabled, but none of their apps actually utilise this.

Overall, the Ledger Blue seems like a dressed up (but inferior) version of the Ledger Nano S.

I wouldn’t recommend it. For the average user, I think the Ledger Nano S is the better option.

If you really want a touchscreen, check out the Trezor T instead. I was really impressed when I recently reviewed it.

Any Questions?

So that’s our Ledger Blue review. We hope it helped you learn more about it.

Do you have any questions about it?

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