Using a Ledger Nano S with Ethereum ERC20 tokens

This article covers how to use a Ledger Nano S to hold Ethereum ERC20 tokens.

If you are setting up a Ledger Nano S for the first time, read How to set up your Ledger Nano S first.

Using a Ledger Nano S with ERC20

1. What is ERC20?
2. Sending and receiving ERC20
3. Sending and receiving ERC20 from a Ledger Nano S or Ledger Blue

1. What is ERC20?

ERC20 tokens are tokens created on the Ethereum platform — OMG, ANT, BAT and a great many others. ERC20 differs from currencies such as Bitcoin, Litecoin or Stratis because it depends on the Ethereum platform itself.

Ledger publishes a list of which ERC20 tokens it supports.

2. Sending and receiving ERC20

Because ERC20 runs on Ethereum, sending and receiving these tokens uses your Ethereum address.

• If you want to receive OMG and your Ethereum address is 0x1234, you give 0x1234 to whoever is sending it. One important warning: when sending to a trading platform, send the token to the address that platform gave you for that specific token. Sending an ERC20 token to an ETH address on a trading platform can lose the tokens outright.
• When sending ERC20, the transfer fee — gas — comes out of your Ethereum balance, so you need ETH in the account you are sending from. We suggest keeping around 0.02 ETH spare for this.

3. Sending and receiving ERC20 from a Ledger Nano S or Ledger Blue

You cannot send or receive ERC20 directly through Ledger's own application.

• It has to be done through MyEtherWallet.com.
• SIAMBC strongly recommends checking the URL and the site's SSL certificate carefully — people have been tricked onto convincing fake versions of this site before.
• Choose "Ledger Wallet", connect your Ledger Nano S or Blue, and open the Ethereum application. (If you do not have the ETH application yet, see step 4 of How to set up your Ledger Nano S.)
• On the Ledger Nano S or Blue, set Settings > Browser Support > Yes.
• A screen appears on your computer showing your Ethereum address.
• You will see more than one address. This is because when the Ledger generates a new account it derives it from BIP39 — the same 24 English words you wrote down.
• The advantage of holding several addresses is that it makes your activity harder to follow.
• Choose the account you want to send from or receive into, set it up as shown, then click "Unlock your wallet".
• Once it loads, your tokens appear on the right. Click "Load token", wait a moment, and the ETH position will let you choose the token you want to send or receive.

If you have further questions, email us at order@siambc.com.