Hardware wallet company Ledger has unveiled a security roadmap to keep humans in final control as an agent economy spreads, with artificial intelligence agents carrying out financial transactions and work tasks on behalf of users.
On April 14 local time, blockchain media outlet The Block reported that Ledger appointed Ian Rogers (이안 로저스) as its first Chief Human Agency Officer to oversee AI-related strategy.
Ledger set out as a core principle that final authority must remain with users even as AI agents gain more autonomy. The company said its hardware security devices are designed to act as a “final approval layer” for transactions even in an AI environment.
The roadmap will be rolled out in stages this year. Developers can currently use Ledger’s device management kit to connect hardware to the transaction approval process. Under this structure, even if an AI agent proposes a transaction, it can be executed only after the user approves it directly on a Ledger device.
Some companies are already applying it. MoonPay introduced a structure in which an AI agent presents a transaction proposal and final approval takes place only on a hardware wallet.
Additional features will be added in sequence. In the second quarter, Ledger plans to introduce hardware-based identity authentication for AI agents. Ledger pointed out that software-based authentication can be forged and stressed building trust through hardware.
In the third quarter, agent intent and policy features will be added. Users will be able to review and approve actions proposed by AI on a trusted screen, and set autonomy in advance, such as spending limits or access rights to specific smart contracts. In the fourth quarter, Ledger plans to introduce a proof-of-human feature to verify whether an actual human user intervened.
In the market, forecasts are mounting that AI agents could become major players in cryptocurrency trading. Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (창펑 자오), known as CZ, mentioned that AI agents will process far more payments than humans. Brian Armstrong predicted an era in which AI carries out transactions through cryptocurrency wallets. John Collison also forecast a surge in agent commerce based on stablecoins and high-speed blockchains.
Ledger sees these shifts as bringing new security risks. It judged that the process itself of users delegating login information, identity and wallet access rights to AI could become a new point of attack. Rogers said, “Humans must be involved in important decisions,” stressing the need for a hardware-based trust system.
Separately, Ledger, founded in 2014, is considering a U.S. listing with a goal of a valuation of more than $4 billion. It has also been expanding its U.S. business, recently hiring John Andrews (존 앤드루스), formerly of Circle, as chief financial officer and opening a New York office.
This roadmap is seen as part of Ledger’s strategy to expand its business beyond a simple hardware wallet company into an authentication and control infrastructure company for the era of AI agents.
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