Polkadot Ledger App Updated with ECDSA and 20-Byte Address Support

The Polkadot Universal App for Ledger devices has just been updated and is now available in the Ledger App Store. This release enhances compatibility across a wider range of Substrate-based networks, expanding the reach of secure hardware wallet support.

What's New

• ECDSA + Keccak-256 Support: The app now includes support for ECDSA signatures and Keccak-256 hashing, both of which are required by several modern Substrate chains. The corresponding JavaScript library has also been updated to reflect these changes.
• 20-Byte Address Compatibility: With this update, the app supports Ethereum-style 20-byte account IDs, in addition to the traditional Substrate address formats.
• signRaw Support for ECDSA: The signRaw function now works seamlessly with ECDSA keys, allowing for broader use cases in signing workflows.

💡 Note: There are no changes to the existing Polkadot derivation path.Compatibility

Early adopters include Nova Wallet and Talisman, which have already upgraded and confirmed compatibility with the new version. Subwallet and PolkadotJS are currently working on implementing support.

Mythos Chain Compatibility

One of the immediate beneficiaries of this upgrade is the Mythos chain, a Substrate-based network focused on digital collectibles and gaming infrastructure. With its reliance on ECDSA signatures and Ethereum-style addresses, this update allows Mythos users to leverage Ledger hardware wallets securely and seamlessly.

This compatibility paves the way for a more secure and integrated user experience on Mythos, especially for participants in the NFT and gaming economy.

Acknowledgments

We extend our deepest thanks to the Web3 Foundation, whose funding and support made this upgrade possible.

A big thank you also goes to the Parity team for their invaluable technical assistance and collaboration.

About Zondax

Zondax is a globally distributed team with deep expertise in blockchain integrations. Having contributed to over 50 blockchain projects, we’ve been a core part of the Substrate ecosystem since 2018, and have completed multiple Web3 Foundation grants. We maintain many of the Ledger apps used across the Polkadot and Cosmos ecosystems.

👉 Check out our work on GitHub.