Ledger has named a new CFO and opened an office in New York as the crypto security company expands its presence in the United States ahead of a planned public listing.
The company said John Andrews, a former Circle (CRCL) executive, will take on the role of CFO. Andrews has spent more than two decades in finance and most recently led capital markets and investor relations at the stablecoin issuer. His appointment comes as Ledger positions itself for closer engagement with institutional investors and public markets.
The New York office, supported by a multimillion-dollar investment, will serve as a hub for Ledger’s corporate activities. The company is hiring in institutional and marketing roles as it develops services for banks, asset managers and other financial firms diving into digital assets.
Ledger said the move reflects the growing demand for secure infrastructure as more institutions hold and manage crypto.
The expansion comes as Ledger explores a U.S. IPO. The company is reportedly working with major banks, including Goldman Sachs, Jefferies and Barclays, on a listing that could value the company at more than $4 billion. CEO Pascal Gauthier has previously highlighted the increase in revenue linked to the increase in crypto hacks, which has boosted demand for secure storage.
Ledger is best known for its hardware wallets, but it has delved deeper into enterprise services in recent years. Its platform offers tools for institutions to store, manage and trade digital assets with internal controls, similar to how a bank might oversee its clients’ funds across multiple approvals.
The company claims to have secured a significant portion of retail-held stablecoins and sold more than 8 million devices worldwide. His record nevertheless has setbacks. A data breach in 2020 exposed customer information, and a subsequent exploit in 2023 affected decentralized finance integrations linked to its ecosystem.
Ledger’s U.S. push follows a broader shift in the crypto sector, where companies are retesting public markets after a volatile period. Custodian BitGo (BTGO) recently went public, marking one of the industry’s first listings this year. Tokenization company Securitize plans to pursue an IPO as soon as it receives the green light from regulators. Meanwhile, crypto exchange Kraken has put its IPO plans on hold pending better market conditions, CoinDesk reported earlier this week.
