The undisputed champion of NFTs and crypto hardware wallets, ledgerfound themselves on the wrong side of the controversy after announcing a new seed phrase recovery feature. Many people in the Web3 community criticize it for ignoring the core principles of cryptography.

To address the elephant in the room, Ledger has announced new subscription plans for Nano X users, including a new seed phrase recovery feature. Essentially, the subscriber divides her encrypted private key into three pieces and is protected by Ledger and his two third-party administrators, her Coincover and EscrowTech. Then, if the key is lost or forgotten, the user can regain access to the wallet through identity verification using her government-issued ID.

In an interesting update, Ledger has a new product, Ledger Recover, coming soon. https://t.co/nT1VHnnSYz

🧵 Here’s what Ledger Recover is and what it isn’t. @P3b7_ & in the thread below. pic.twitter.com/RW1w07H6pK

— Ledger (@Ledger) May 16, 2023

Cryptocurrency Twitter Furious Over New Ledger Seed Phrase Recovery Feature

An immediate backlash from NFTs and the crypto community saw the move as a step away from the core ethos of Ledger. Basically, it goes against the long-standing principle that the owner’s seed phrase never leaves the device. On the other hand, some have expressed concern that the feature could open a “backdoor” into the software even for users who have not opted-in to the service.

Additionally, further uproar was voiced by some of the loudest voices in the community regarding the requirement for government-issued IDs that could inherently tie a user’s identity to their crypto assets. However, further questions were raised regarding the possibility that users with access to the linked identities could access the wallet.

Ledger recovery feature uproar sparks debate over wallet access

Despite many concerns about Ledger’s new Seed Phrase Recovery feature, the feature has led to a discussion of the aforementioned issues indoors. So, how to recover NFTs and other digital assets if the seed phrase is lost or forgotten. A key issue for ordinary people who are not interested in cryptocurrencies without being at the mercy of centralized exchanges.

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*All investment/financial opinions expressed by NFT PLAZA are based on the site moderator’s personal research and experience and are for educational material only. Individuals should thoroughly research any product before making any type of investment.