Ledger Live enables you to manage many different crypto assets using a single Ledger device. Learn the difference between apps and accounts to manage your different coins easily.
Apps manage different coins securely
For each crypto asset that you want to manage, you need to install its app on your Ledger hardware wallet. The app enables your Ledger hardware wallet to use its private keys for the specific blockchain network of the crypto asset. This lets you receive and send that crypto asset.
Apps run fully isolated from each other thanks to the operating system on your Ledger device, BOLOS. This ensures that every app can only manage the crypto assets it is made for, providing an optimal level of security.
Apps can be uninstalled safely whenever you want. Don't worry, this does not affect your crypto.
Accounts are similar to bank accounts
Accounts in Ledger Live have separated balances to provide flexibility in managing your crypto assets. You can add multiple accounts for each crypto asset and give them a name for different purposes (e.g. trading, checking, savings, etc.).
When you add an account, Ledger Live gets its unique extended public key from your Ledger device. Thanks to the xpub, Ledger Live then generates individual public addresses and checks their balances in the blockchain to calculate your account balance.