Ledger, a France-based maker of crypto hardware wallets, has launched the Ledger Atom, a smartphone-like device designed to protect users’ digital assets and online activity. The device will be available from summer 2027 at a price of USD 899. It runs Android apps alongside a separate operating system for sensitive tasks such as crypto transactions, encrypted messaging, and actions carried out by AI agents. The Atom is aimed at individuals and businesses that may already use a separate smartphone for sensitive activities.
Two operating systems and tamper protections
The Atom runs an open-source version of Android for everyday apps and Ledger OS, the company’s own system, on a secure chip for sensitive activities, switching between the two automatically. Hardware wallets keep private keys separate from internet-connected devices, but this can make transactions more cumbersome because users have to switch between devices. The Atom combines these security functions with a smartphone’s apps and touchscreen, so users can initiate and approve transactions on the same device. It also adds protections against physical tampering, including methods to detect whether the enclosure around the secure element has been opened or the display removed. These protections run even when the device is off.
Users will be able to send and receive crypto and access some services from third-party platforms such as Kraken. The device can also manage AI agents through OpenClaw and encrypt private messages before they are sent through any messaging app, with recipients decrypting them on another Atom device in secure mode. Pascal Gauthier, CEO of Ledger, said the Atom is not intended to replace users’ main smartphones but forms a separate category, with about 200 million security phones sold each year. Ledger is also targeting growth in tokenisation and in AI agents, which will require ways to verify who controls them.
Launch follows tampered wallet incident
The launch comes as Ledger deals with losses reported by users who bought some of its wallets from a Malaysian reseller. First disclosed on 9 October 2026, the incident has led to estimated losses of more than USD 90 million across hundreds of cryptocurrency addresses, according to research published by Galaxy Digital. Ledger’s investigation found that attackers bought genuine devices, fitted them with hidden spyware implants designed to capture passwords, and returned them to circulation through resellers in Southeast Asia. The company said its own systems and devices were not compromised, but it did not confirm the number of affected users or the total losses.
According to Ledger, the Atom’s tamper protections are designed to block the type of spyware implants that users discovered in October 2026. The incident is the latest in a series of breaches involving makers of crypto hardware wallets, which have long been considered one of the safer ways to store digital assets. Cryptocurrency hacks have increased this year, as advances in AI make it easier for attackers to find exploitable flaws in company code. Gauthier said perfect security does not exist and that the company is not taking the incident lightly.
