Ledger Launches Physical NFC Card for Offline Wallet Recovery

Hardware wallet manufacturer Ledger released the Recovery Key, a physical NFC smart card that restores access to crypto wallets completely offline, without relying on cloud backups or identity verification. The new device is compatible with Ledger's Flex and Stax wallets.

Users can recover their private keys by tapping the NFC card against their Ledger wallet and entering a PIN. The process happens entirely offline. The card stores encrypted private key data using the same Secure Element technology found in Ledger hardware wallets.

When tapped against a compatible device, the card transfers key fragments directly to the wallet, restoring access to stored assets. No personal information gets transmitted during recovery.

A Direct Response to ‘Ledger Recover' Criticism

The Recovery Key stands in stark contrast to Ledger's earlier, more controversial backup service, Ledger Recover. Launched in 2023, the subscription-based Ledger Recover service stored encrypted fragments of users' seed phrases on cloud servers managed by third parties, and required identity verification to restore access.

That cloud-based approach drew widespread criticism from privacy advocates and longtime crypto users who were concerned about entrusting parts of their private keys to any third party. The new, completely offline NFC card appears to be Ledger's direct answer to that feedback, offering a self-custodial alternative.

Security & Audits

Ledger open-sourced the Recovery Key's application code and published a white paper detailing its design. The company's internal security team, Donjon, conducted security reviews. Cybersecurity firm Synacktiv performed external audits.

We've received extremely positive feedback from security researchers and industry leaders, and we're excited to reveal it to the world for even more feedback ahead of its launch soon,

said Charles Guillemet, Ledger's Chief Technology Officer, in a statement.

Ledger plans to ship the Recovery Key soon as an optional accessory for Flex and Stax users. The company didn’t announce pricing for the NFC card.

Read on: Ledger Gives Trezor a Security Boost

The Recovery Key addresses user concerns about the earlier Ledger Recover service while providing an alternative to traditional seed phrase storage methods. Users who lose access to their wallets can restore them using the physical card instead of relying on cloud-based recovery or manual seed phrase entry.