An iced out Ledger is a Ledger hardware wallet, nearly always the Nano X, with its plain stainless steel swivel cover replaced by a cover set edge to edge with diamonds. The wallet inside is a normal Ledger. The cover is jewelry. It is the same idea as an iced out watch bezel: the mechanism stays stock, the surface you see gets stones.
The phrase went mainstream in November 2022 when Drake posted one to his Instagram story with the caption "Waiting on you, Bitcoin." It has been a quiet corner of hip-hop jewelry ever since, mostly made one at a time by independent jewelers. This page covers what people actually search for about it: the Drake story, the real cost, how it is made, and what to watch out for.
Drake's iced out Ledger
On 18 November 2022 Drake posted a photo of a diamond-encrusted Ledger Nano to his Instagram story. Ledger's own account replied the same day that it had seen the post and thought it was "pretty cool." Asked about it, Ledger's communications chief told Decrypt that the company learned of the wallet the same way everyone else did, had no partnership with Drake, and did not supply the device.
That detail matters. Drake's wallet was an independent custom job by a jeweler, which is how almost every iced out Ledger comes to exist. The exceptions are the ones Ledger paid for: Gunna wore a diamond Ledger pendant on a 20-carat chain at the 2022 Met Gala under a Ledger partnership, and Saweetie's "Closer" video featured one through a deal with the company.
What an iced out Ledger costs
Prices depend almost entirely on three things: whether the stones are real diamonds, what the cover is cast in, and how much of the cover is covered.
| Build | Typical price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Costume | $50 to $300 | Cubic zirconia or crystals glued to a plated shell. Reads as diamonds from a distance, not up close, and stones fall out. |
| Real diamonds, sterling silver | $4,500 to $4,800 | Around 17 carats of pavé-set diamonds in a solid silver cover. This is what our Ledger cases are. |
| Real diamonds, 14K or 18K gold | $9,000 and up | Same setting work in gold. Gold adds weight cost and the cover is heavier on the wrist. |
| Natural stones, large, or colored | $15,000 and up | Bigger individual stones, sapphires or rubies, VVS clarity. The Drake tier. |
Every price above is for the cover only. The Ledger itself retails at about $150 and you keep your own.
How many carats fit on a Ledger
The Nano X is 72 mm long and 18.6 mm wide, which sounds small until you count the surface. A swivel cover is a folded sheet with two faces and a rim, so a fully paved one carries stones on both sides and around the edge. On our covers that works out to roughly 1,300 to 2,000 stones, most of them about 1.2 mm, plus a few larger ones for eyes, bows or accents, for a total of around 17 carats. The stones are small and the carat weight is spread across many of them, which is also why the setting labor is a bigger share of the price than the diamonds.
How it is made
- The cover comes off. The Nano X cover pivots on a pin at one end. It is a cosmetic shell; removing it does not open the device or touch the electronics.
- A new cover is modeled. The replacement is drawn in CAD to the same hinge and the same clearances, so it swivels and closes like the original, with the button hole and the screen window kept clear.
- Cast in metal. The CAD is printed in castable resin, cast in sterling silver or gold, and finished.
- Stones set by hand. Each seat is drilled and each stone is bead-set. On a cover this is more than a thousand settings, which is the slow part.
- You swap it on. The cover arrives on its own. You slide it onto your device's hinge yourself, or send the cover to anyone you trust.
Does it change the security?
No. The secure element, the screen, the button and the firmware are untouched by a cover swap. What changes is how conspicuous the device is. A diamond wallet announces that it is a crypto wallet, so the usual advice applies with extra force: it holds your keys, not your coins, and losing it is survivable as long as your recovery phrase is stored somewhere safe and offline.
Which Ledger models can be iced
The Nano X is the standard because its cover is a single swivel plate with a flat face. The Nano S Plus works the same way at a smaller size. The newer touchscreen models, Stax and Flex, have no swivel cover, so they take a case or frame rather than a replacement cover. Covers are model specific; a Nano X cover will not fit an S Plus.
Frequently asked
Is the Ledger included?
No. You buy the cover and put it on the device you already own. That is deliberate: nobody should be mailing a hardware wallet around.
Can I keep my original steel cover?
Yes. The swap is reversible. Keep the steel cover and put it back on any time.
Are the stones real diamonds?
On our covers, yes, natural or lab-grown by your choice, set in solid sterling silver. Each cover ships with an independent appraisal.
How long does one take?
In-stock covers ship in 3 to 5 days. Made-to-order designs take 2 to 4 weeks, most of it setting time.
Can you do a custom design?
Yes. Anything that reads at cover size works: bold shapes, allover patterns, initials. Fine detail turns to texture at this scale, so we will tell you if a motif will not survive it. Start with a free AI design preview.
Kitty and Snake in stock. Star, Cross and Paw made to order. Cover only, from $4,500.
Sources: Decrypt, "Bitcoin Bling: Drake Is Latest Rapper to Flex Iced-Out Ledger Wallet," 18 November 2022. Ledger Nano X dimensions from Ledger's published specifications. Bobby Baguetti is not affiliated with Ledger SAS; Ledger is a trademark of its owner.