Executive summary — what this playbook covers

Ledger Live Desktop is a mission-critical interface when hardware-backed custody is part of your workflow. It’s used by hobbyists, serious investors, and small teams. This playbook documents three common operational use cases: (1) individual long-term custody, (2) day-to-day trading & DeFi interactions, and (3) small-team shared workflows with governance. For each, we provide concrete steps, security checks, and a short incident-response vignette.

Use Case A — Individual long-term custody

Scenario: Alice holds a diversified portfolio of crypto assets and wants a low-maintenance, high-assurance setup for multi-year storage. The recommended pattern is straightforward:

  1. Buy an official Ledger device: shop.ledger.com.
  2. Download Ledger Live from ledger.com/ledger-live and verify the installer if checksums/signatures are published.
  3. Create a new device seed and store backups offline (paper + metal backup for resilience).
  4. Add accounts in Ledger Live, label them, and transfer long-term holdings to reserve accounts.
  5. Perform periodic checks (monthly) to validate the ability to sign small transactions and confirm firmware/app health via Manager.

Operational note: reserve accounts should use a minimal attack surface machine for periodic access, and private backups must be stored in geographically separated secure locations.

Incident vignette

Alice's laptop developed malware that attempted to propose large transfers via a cloned site. Because device confirmation was required, the transaction stalled until Alice physically reviewed the device and declined. The outcome: zero loss. The lesson is clear — the process works when users consistently verify transaction details on-device.

Use Case B — Active DeFi & NFT participant

Scenario: Bob frequently interacts with DeFi protocols and participates in NFT drops. His operational demands require a balance between flexibility and limit controls. Recommended workflow:

  • Maintain a hot account with limited funds for drops and trades; keep main reserves in a cold device-protected account.
  • Use Ledger Live to manage accounts and install necessary blockchain apps via Manager.
  • For each new dApp, use a small test transaction and prefer specific allowances, revoking unlimited approvals when not required.

Incident vignette

During an NFT mint, Bob approved an unlimited token allowance on a new contract accidentally. He detected the anomaly in his transaction log and immediately revoked allowances using an on-chain revoke tool and moved remaining funds to a freshly created address. Recovery was possible because the attacker had not yet executed a drain; rapid detection and revocation limited exposure.

Resources for allowance revocation and DeFi hygiene are available in Ledger’s support docs: support.ledger.com.

Use Case C — Small-team governance & shared operations

Scenario: A small team needs to manage development funds and occasional on-chain operations. Hardware devices provide a form of multi-person consent when paired with documented procedures. Recommended elements:

  • Define roles: who can propose transfers, who approves them, and who performs backups.
  • Use separate hot wallets for frequent spends and cold storage for treasury.
  • Document recovery processes and perform periodic drills to ensure backups are usable.

Incident vignette

A team experienced an employee turnover where a departing member retained a copy of a seed phrase. The team followed their incident response plan: rotate affected addresses, move funds to a new seed, and update any access controls. Governance documents and rehearsed rotations reduced downtime and confusion.

Developer guidance & integration checklist

Developers building dApps should design for hardware-wallet users by providing explicit, human-readable signing requests, testnet onboarding, and helpful fallbacks. Link to Ledger official resources — ledger.com/start and ledger.com/ledger-live — from onboarding flows to minimize user confusion.

Operational checklists (printable)

Daily quick check

  • Firmware and Ledger Live are updated.
  • No unexpected transaction proposals in history.
  • Device is securely stored when not in use.

Incident response starter

  1. Assess scope: which addresses are affected?
  2. Revoke allowances where possible.
  3. Move funds to a new seed-controlled address.
  4. Contact Ledger Support and consult official docs: support.ledger.com.