Source: AdobeStock / velirina

In response to the latest controversy related to hardware wallet specialist Ledger and its new service, competitors are taking advantage of the worries expressed by some users. Among others, hardware producer Trezor hopes to capitalize on Ledger’s trouble by offering a discount to buyers.

“Open Source security you can verify,” promises Trezor’s website, offering customers a discount of 15 until May 21.

The business currently offers two hardware products: Trezor Model One and Trezor Model T. The former is priced at $58, and the latter at $186 after the latest discount is applied. 

The promo comes in the aftermath of Ledger’s decision to roll out a new, but also highly controversial wallet recovery service, Ledger Recover. The company claims that the service lets its users “create an encrypted backup for your Secret Recovery Phrase that only you can access, anytime, anywhere.”

“Ledger Recover is an ID-based key recovery service that provides a backup for your Secret Recovery Phrase. If you lose or don‘t have access to your Secret Recovery Phrase, the service allows you to securely restore your private keys using a Ledger device,” according to the company.

Charles Guillemet, the chief technology officer of Ledger, replied to the expressed worries in a video posted on Tuesday, emphasizing that, while the new wallet feature could be a comfortable solution for some customers, it will be completely optional.

Everyone “can continue managing your secret recovery phrase all by yourself if that’s why you bought a Ledger in the first place,” he said, adding that Ledger Recover will not be automatically activated by any firmware updates in the future.

“In this process, Ledger and our trusted providers have no access to your secret recovery phase. There’s no backdoor for anyone,” according to Guillemet.

In spite of the CTO’s explanations, a number of commentators have  accused the hardware specialist of running counter to the crypto ethos, and potentially putting its customers’ digital assets at risk. Others were enjoying the resulting spread of discounts by competitors.

“Lol serves them right. Cold card is having a sale too,” user omgitsdan said on Reddit, referring to Canadian hardware maker Coldcard and its discounted products.

Launched in 2013, Trezor is owned by SatoshiLabs, a company based in the Czech Republic’s capital Prague. 

To date, SatoshiLabs has sold more than 300,000 units of the Trezor Model T, and more than 750,000 units of the Trezor Model One, according to data released by the business.