Ledger targets Middle East and India expansion as they're 'prime' for crypto, chief executive says

Pascal Gauthier believes there are plenty of crypto business opportunities as governments push adoption

Pascal Gauthier, chief executive of Ledger, in Dubai as the company kicked off a global tour to mark its 10th anniversary. Antonie Robertson / The National

Ledger, the French cryptocurrency and cyber security company, aims to make a “big push” into the Middle East, North Africa and India in 2025 as part of its global expansion strategy, as Bitcoin shapes up to be a safe asset, its chief executive has said.

The Paris-based company, which already has a foothold in the UAE, will be looking at markets including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain for its crypto security technology, which is designed to protect users' digital assets in the $2.3 trillion industry, Pascal Gauthier told The National in an interview on Thursday.

Ledger is best known for its crypto hardware. The PDA- and USB drive-style devices manage digital assets, have several layers of security and integrate with Apple's iOS, Google's Android and personal computers.

India and Turkey, in particular, are “highly promising”, Mr Gauthier said, though the former is a “tough nut to crack” due to customs and other regulatory barriers. He was speaking in Dubai, where Ledger kicked off a global tour to mark its 10th anniversary.

From both consumer and enterprise sides “this region is really moving in terms of traditional finance migrating towards crypto finance” so users “need tools” to help manage their assets, Mr Gauthier said. In the lead-up to its 2025 expansion plans, Ledger is looking for partners to help distribute its products in target markets, he added.

“It's going to be a prime region … [and Ledger has] a very progressive view on crypto assets. [Governments] are moving towards crypto assets with regulations and also with the view that there is business to be done.”

The Mena region received $338.7 billion in crypto value between July 2023 and June 2024, with Turkey accounting for $136.8 billion and Saudi Arabia accounting for $47.1 billion, blockchain company Chainalysis said in a report last month.

Turkey’s high inflation rate has driven much of the country’s crypto adoption, as its citizens turned to digital currencies – particularly stablecoins and altcoins – to hedge against national currency devaluation and seek higher returns, the New York-based Chainalysis said.

Saudi Arabia remained the fastest-growing crypto economy in Mena, followed by Qatar. The volume of stablecoins in the kingdom and the UAE were higher than the global average, with interest in decentralised platforms remaining high in the Arab world's two biggest economies, the report said.

The value of cryptocurrency assets received by services in the UAE, meanwhile, reached $34 billion during the same period, representing a 42 per cent year-on-year growth, driven by increased institutional participation, regulatory innovation and expanding market activity, signalling a more balanced adoption landscape, the report said.

Regulatory strides made across key markets in Mena this year are expected to further develop the crypto sector, impacting financial inclusion and the broader adoption of decentralised financial systems, Chainalysis said.

“Dubai in particular is really strong when it comes to retail … it has the consumer traffic to put the UAE on the crypto map,” Mr Gauthier said, noting that Ledger's investment in Dubai and Abu Dhabi is “not too dissimilar” to what it is doing in other major markets such as the US or Europe, without elaborating.

Ledger's push comes amid optimism on the crypto market, especially Bitcoin, the world's first and biggest cryptocurrency that has strongly recovered from its most recent lows. As of Friday, Bitcoin is priced at about $67,400, but still well below its all-time high above $73,000 set in March.

Bitcoin and the overall cryptocurrency market have proven to be highly volatile, where wild swings are influenced by anything from economic factors to simple things such as tweets. The sector has also had to endure high-profile company closures, cyber attacks and criminal cases against top executives, most notably FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried who was eventually sentenced to jail.

However, Mr Gauthier believes Bitcoin is a safe asset, though with the caveat of being aware of the high risks involved and analysing market trends, especially over the long term.

“There is no such thing as risk-free investments. Free investment means very low return, so it really depends on how you invest and what kind of return you're looking for,” he said.

“If you have a short-term view on crypto, then you take the same risk as doing it on the stock market … if you're trying to play with volatility, then you're taking a lot of risk. If you're a long-term investor, I would say Bitcoin right now has proven over the years that it's a safe asset … nobody has lost money investing in Bitcoin.”