How to Use the Ledger Nano Hardware Wallet

Billions of dollars worth of crypto have been stolen just in the last few years.

Hackers stole this money by taking advantage of poor security and storage practices of exchanges. Crypto is extremely attractive to steal because it can easily be moved around and spent anonymously.

The best way to ensure your crypto does not get stolen is to store it on a hardware wallet—an electronic device designed to store crypto and keep it as safe as possible.

The best hardware wallet on the market is the Ledger Nano X, with its cheaper and less featured sibling the Nano S being a close second.

The Ledger Nano's can be a bit confusing to understand and use at first so this post will walk you through the whole process of buying and using the Ledger Nano to keep your crypto safe.

Where to buy

The best place to grab a Ledger Nano is direct from their website.

They have two main products, the Model X and the Model S (perhaps their next models will be the Models 3 and Y?). The Model S is their original version that costs $60, the Model X is the newer model that costs $120. The main differences between the two are:

Connectivity. The S has to be plugged into a computer to use. The X has a battery and bluetooth connectivity so you can use it on the go with your mobile device. It's much more convenient to use, and makes it possible to make transfers while on the go.
Screen size. The X's screen is twice as tall, making it a bit nicer to use.
Storage. The S can store between 3-20 different cryptocurrencies at a time, whereas the X can store over 100 at a time. Making it much better if you plan on diversifying with a bunch of different altcoins.
Design. The X and S have a very similar design, with a plastic main body and a metal shield. The X, however, is more polished and high-quality feeling. The screen and buttons are flush with the body (the two big circles). It's much more aesthetically pleasing and nicer to use.

Ledger is located in France so depending on where you live you'll have to pay for shipping, and the package may be stopped at customs. If it is, you'll have to pay customs and duties fees upon delivery (or UPS will ask you to pay it prior to delivery). When I purchased the S and X combo pack, the fees came to around $25 USD (in Canada). Make sure to factor that into the cost.

If you want additional security, you can get the Ledger Backup Pack, which contains the Model S and X. The idea is you leave the S at home in a secure place (like a safe or fireproof box), and bring your X with you to use with your mobile device. If your X is stolen, damaged, or lost, you can quickly restore the contents of the X onto the S and keep access to your crypto immediately. You won't have to wait for a replacement to show up in the mail.

Setting it up

When your Ledger Nano arrives, you'll need to do a few things to set it up:

Create a passcode to access the device.
Write down and verify the recovery phrase.
Install Ledger Live on your phone/computer.
Install "apps" on the device in order to store different cryptocurrencies.
Connect your Nano to Ledger Live on your device.
Create accounts for the cryptocurrencies you plan to store.

Create a passcode to access the device

Your passcode is an 8-digit numeric password to unlock your Nano device. When you first boot up the Nano you'll set this passcode.

Note: It is incredibly important that this number be something you will always remember. If you forget it, your Nano will be impossible to open.

If a Model S, plug into your computer.
Turn on the Nano by holding a button down for a couple seconds.
Choose PIN code should show on the screen after loading. Press both buttons to select.
Press the left and right buttons to choose the first digit of your passcode.
Press both buttons at once to select the digit
Repeat until you've selected all eight digits.
Select the checkmark (✓) and press both buttons to confirm the PIN code.
Confirm your PIN code by entering it once more.
You'll then move onto the recovery phase.

Write down and verify the recovery phrase

Next you'll write down and verify your recovery phrase. The recovery is 24 word phrase of seemingly random words generated by the Ledger Nano upon setup.

It is incredibly important. If your Nano is lost, stolen, or damaged, the recovery phrase is the only way to recovery your crypto to another Nano.

The Ledger Nano comes with 3 sheets to write the recovery phrase on. Grab one of these.
Write down the first word from the recovery phrase onto the sheet in position #1. Double check it's in position 1.
Press the right button to go to the next word. Write it down in position #2.
Repeat until all 24 words are copied down to your sheet.
Press both buttons on Confirm your recovery phrase.
It will then get you to verify the recovery phrase by getting you to choose each word out of a list of 3. Press left and right to cycle through the options and press both buttons to select the word.
It will say Processing and then Your device is now ready
Press both buttons to go to the Dashboard which is where you'll be able to install apps (we'll do this soon).
Copy the recovery phrase onto the two other sheets.
Save these sheets in incredibly secure places. Anyone who has your recovery phrase can get a Ledger Nano and get access to your crypto.

We can't stress this enough. Your recovery phrase is the most important thing to keep safe. It's the only way to recover your crypto if your device is lost. But also it falling into the wrong hands can have your crypto stolen. Your crypto is only as safe as your recovery phrase. So get a fireproof box, or safety deposit box and put it in there.

Install Ledger Live

To continue, you'll need Ledger Live, which is an application on your computer or mobile device that can interface with the Ledger Nano. Think of it as the interface or control panel for your Ledger Nano. Ledger Live is where you'll be able to:

Install apps onto the Ledger Nano
Create new accounts on your Ledger Nano using those apps
Send and receive crypto to and from your accounts on your Ledger Nano
Keep track of your account balances on the Ledger Nano and on other wallet apps
Track the value of each of your accounts based on current and historical prices
See portfolio distribution
View transaction history

The instructions here are easy:

Go download Ledger Live for your device and install it
Create an account
Move on to next step

Connect your Nano to Ledger Live

Next you need to associate your Nano to Ledger Live:

If Nano S, plug it into your computer. If Nano X, grab your mobile device and make sure Bluetooth is enabled.
Unlock your Nano with the passcode.
Open up Ledger Live
Click on Manager
Click Add new Ledger Nano S/X
Select the device when it detects it
Confirm that the Bluetooth code on both devices are the same.
Click Confirm on Ledger Live.
Click both buttons to Confirm on your Nano.
Then click both buttons to Allow Ledger Manager
Tap Rename in Ledger Live if you wish to rename your device!

Install "apps" on the device

In order to have accounts on the Nano to hold crypto, you have to install the applications for that cryptoasset on it first. For example, if you want to store BTC and ETH, you'd download and install the Bitcoin and Ethereum apps onto your Ledger Nano. Confusing, but so be it.

If Nano S, plug it into your computer
Turn the Nano on and unlock it with your passcode
Go to Install apps
Open Ledger Live
Go to Manager
Select your Nano
On your Nano, select Allow Ledger Manager
Scroll down or search for the apps you want to install, and click Install. For example if you have BTC, ETH, XRP, and LTC, you'll want to install the Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and Litecoin apps.
Keep the Ledger Live app open while installing, and don't change screens.

You'll want to keep these up to date by occasionally coming into the Manager and clicking Update All.

Create accounts

Now that the apps are installed, you can now create accounts in Ledger Live so you can actually store crypto!

In Ledger Live, click on Accounts
Click the + in the top right
Click Add accounts
Click the cryptoasset you wish to create an account for. For example, for BTC, choose Bitcoin
Select your Nano device from the list
If Nano S, plug it into your device and turn on. If Nano X, turn on.
Unlock Nano with passcode.
Find the app for the cryptoasset you want to add and open the app (click both buttons). For example, if Bitcoin, open the Bitcoin app.
In Ledger Live, select the account and hit Continue.

You can rename the account at any time by selecting it from the list of in Accounts, clicking the Wrench in the top right, and going to Account Name.

Transferring crypto to the Nano

This experience is a bit weird the first time. So we'll walk you through it step by step.

If using the Model S, plug it into your computer. If using the Model X, turn it on by pressing one of the buttons on the device.
Enter your passcode to unlock your Nano.
Open the app of the currency you wish to transfer. For example, if you are transferring BTC, open the Bitcoin app.
Open the Ledger Live app on your computer/phone (if using the X make sure bluetooth is on).
In Ledger Live, click Transfer, and then Receive.
Choose which account you want to receive it to. Make sure the account matches the currency you wish to transfer or your crypto could be lost forever.
Select the device that this account is on.
Once they connect to each other, click continue in Ledger Live.
Confirm that the address you see on Ledger Live 100% matches the address seen on your Nano. It must be exactly the same, lowercase and uppercase matters.
Once you're confident they're the same, on the Nano press right and then approve.
Copy the address from Ledger Live, and then paste it into the app you're sending crypto from. Again, verify that the two match 100%. There have been computer viruses that will change addresses when you paste them.
Once you're confident they're the same, confirm the send on the app you're sending it from. Note, you will likely to pay transaction fees.
Depending on which currency you're sending, and how busy the blockchain is, it could take seconds to hours for it to send and be verified. It's generally good practice to wait for at least 3 verifications to be confident it truly went through. One block on the blockchain can be falsified by a miner, but it's very unlikely three blocks in a row will be falsified since they'll likely be done by completely different miners.

The process is manual and time consuming, and is a lot more effort than Venmo, but the Nano is the most secure way to store crypto.

We recommend sending to the Nano in larger batches so you're not doing this super often because it is quite cumbersome, and costs transaction fees.

Consider the Nano a safe hidden behind a painting in the study. It's super secure, but you access it infrequently. It's meant to hide and protect your valuables. It's least secure and convenient when you use it, but does an incredible job keeping the contents safe if you just leave it alone.

Managing your crypto

Once you have crypto on your Ledger Nano, besides sending and receiving crypto, you can use Ledger Live to:

Keep track of your account balances
Track the value of each of your accounts based on current and historical prices
See portfolio distribution
View transaction history
View account history

Luckily Ledger Live can help you keep track of how much your crypto portfolio is worth at any one time. That way you don't need to manually create a spreadsheet and keep it up to date in order to now the performance of your portfolio.

One thing it does not do, however, is keep track the value at which you purchased any of the assets. You can only see the value of your portfolio change over time as prices fluctuate and you buy/sell crypto.

Sending crypto from the Nano

If using the Model S, plug it into your computer. If using the Model X, turn it on by pressing one of the buttons on the device.
Enter your passcode to unlock your Nano.
Open the app of the currency you wish to transfer. For example, if you are transferring ETH, open the Ethereum app.
Open the Ledger Live app on your device (if using the X make sure bluetooth is on).
In Ledger Live, click Transfer, and then Send.
Choose which account you want to send from (for example, one of the ETH accounts).
Scan the QR code of the address you wish to send crypto to, or enter it manually. Make sure to verify it is 100% accurate. If you send it to the wrong place you will not get it back.‍
Type in either the amount of the cryptocurrency you wish to send, or the amount of the fiat currency (like USD) you wish to send. Setting one value will automatically update the other to the equivalent amount based on current prices. (If you want to send all of it, you can select Use Max in the bottom right).
In the next screen you'll choose how quickly you want the crypto to be sent and verified. The faster you want it to be sent, the more expensive the fees will be. Note the fees will also vary greatly depending on how busy the blockchain is. For example, transfer fees for Bitcoin have ranged from cents during extremely quiet periods to $35 during the crypto bubble of 2017. These periods of high volume can make your transactions take hours to send and can cause a backlog of transfers for weeks.
Select which of your Nanos you want to send from. It must be the one where that account lives.
Make sure the Nano is still powered on and has the appropriate crypto app open (for example the Ethereum app to transfer ETH).
Verify the transaction on your Nano.
Confirm the transfer in Ledger Live.
Done!

As you can see this is not the fastest way to send money to people. It takes quite a few steps to do (way more than Venmo), and depending on the cryptocurrency and how busy the blockchain is it can take anywhere from seconds to hours to transfer and be verified.

But it's a worthwhile tradeoff to ensure your crypto remains safe. For more frequent purchases using crypto it is much better to get a crypto credit card like the Crypto.com VISA cards. Your hardware wallet should be a longer term storage device for coins you're HODLing.