Overview
If you have your ADA in a Ledger Nano wallet this guide will walk you through how to delegate by creating a hardware Yoroi wallet. If you are like us, you probably haven't touched your Ledger Nano in quite some time and may forget how to use it. No worries, we got you covered. Go ahead - dust it off and let's begin! If at anytime you are unsure of any terminology used check out the glossary at the end of this article.
Setup the Ledger Nano
To start, connect your Ledger Nano to your computer. If you have a Ledger Nano X you can connect via bluetooth if your computer supports it. If you have a Ledger Nano S or your computer doesn't support bluetooth you can connect it with a USB-C to USB cable. If you are on a mac you will need a USB to lightning adapter as shown below. If you don't have a mac the USB will plug directly into your computer.
Next you will have to insert your pin to unlock your ledger. There are two buttons on the side of the Ledger Nano that are used for controls. The left button decrements or moves left, the right button increments or moves right and clicking both buttons at the same times selects.
You have 3 attempts to input your pin correctly. If you fail all three times all the data on the device will be wiped. Don't worry though, as long as you have the recovery phrases you can follow the on device instructions to restore your wallet and create a new pin.
Next, make sure Ledger Live is installed. This program is an interface to allow you to manage your Ledger Nano. If it is installed make sure it's updated to the most recent version. If not, you can download it here: https://www.ledger.com/ledger-live/download
Load up Ledger Live and check if there is an available firmware update. Making sure you are on the latest firmware version will ensure everything works smoothly. If you have an update it will be under the Manager tab and look something like this. Click "Update firmware" and follow the instructions in Ledger Live and on your Ledger Nano. It will give a warning that updating will delete all existing apps - this is ok as you can re-install any needed apps after the update.
Once the update has completed, search for "cardano" and click "Install". The Cardano app will be used to interface with Yoroi.
Prep the Ledger Nano
Before continuing, make sure your Ledger Nano is connected to your computer and the Cardano app is opened by selecting it from the home screen.
You should then see a screen that says "Waiting for commands...". Make sure you are at this screen when performing any actions in Yoroi.
Cardano Ledger Wallet in Yoroi
If you do not have the Yoroi browser extension installed, follow the instructions in the section titled "Create a Desktop Yoroi Wallet" in the blog post here. Once installed come back to this section to continue.
Let's create a hardware wallet to interface with your Ledger Nano. If you already have an existing Yoroi Ledger wallet this will also give you the ability to recover it. Select the "Connect to hardware wallet" box
Select the Cardano platform (next to the symbol for ADA).
Select the "Ledger Hardware Wallet" box.
The Shelley-era wallets are the newest wallets (since July 29th, 2020). This wallet is required for delegating. If you have ADA in an older, Byron-era wallet you will be prompted to convert that wallet in the next step. Select the "Shelley-era wallet" box.
This next page confirms that you have setup the Ledger Nano like we did in the previous steps. Click the "Next" button.
Click "CONNECT".
A new window will open on the domain "emurgo.github.io". Make sure your Ledger Nano is unlocked and the Cardano app is opened. Then select the model of Ledger Nano that you have to continue.
On your Ledger Nano confirm exporting the public key by clicking both buttons simultaneously and then click the right button to confirm again. Sometimes this won't work the first time and you will be brought back to the page above. Simply perform the same steps again.
If successful, you will be brought back to the original page where you can choose the name of the wallet. Click "Save" when done.
If you already had a Yoroi Byron-era wallet you will see a screen like this. Your wallet needs to be a Shelley-era wallet to support delegating. A small transaction fee is required. Click "UPGRADE" to continue.
A new tab will open and you will see this screen. Make sure your Ledger Nano is unlocked and then click "CONTINUE".
On your Ledger Nano confirm the new transaction with the right button.
Confirm the amount of ADA with the both buttons.
Confirm the address with both buttons.
Confirm the transaction fee with both buttons.
Confirm the Transaction TTL with both buttons.
Finally, confirm the transaction with the right button.
Congratulations! You should be brought back to your new Yoroi wallet and you are now ready to begin delegating! For instructions delegating in Yoroi follow the blog post: Delegate in Yoroi
Glossary
ADA - The abbreviation for the cryptocurrency that lives on the Cardano blockchain. This can be bought or sold on cryptocurrency exchanges.
Daedalus - An officially supported wallet software used to store ADA (like a bank that has accounts). Unlike Yoroi, it is a full-node wallet meaning installing it requires an entire copy of the blockchain (made up of GB's of transactional records).
Yoroi - An officially supported wallet software used to store ADA (like a bank that has accounts). Unlike Daedalus, it is a light-weight wallet that is supported on desktops, mobile, and hardware wallets. It also relies on trusted, external entities instead of keeping a copy of the entire blockchain like Daedalus.
Exchange - A website that allows you to buy, sell, or trade cryptocurrencies. This is similar to something like the New York Stock exchange in traditional finance. There are many exchanges all over the world that offer different services for different fees.
Wallet - You can think of a wallet like a bank account. It holds all of your ADA. Just like how you can have different bank accounts at different banks, you wallets can be created from different software applications such as Daedalus or Yoroi.
Hardware Wallet - Unlike a software wallet, a hardware wallet stores the private keys for your wallet on a physical device similar to USB drive. The private keys are used to restore your wallet so you can send or retrieve your ADA. It is considered the most secure way to store your wallet. Ledger Nano and Trezor are two popular hardware wallets
Stake Pool - A dedicated server that supports the decentralization and security of the blockchain. Owned and operated by individuals of the Cardano community, it earns rewards for its contributions and those rewards are then distributed amongst the pool owners and its delegates.
Delegate - A delegate is someone who has "delegated" their ADA to a staking pool. Delegating your ADA to a staking pool allows you to earn a portion of rewards that staking pools get for contributing to the operation of the Cardano blockchain.
Stake - The amount of ADA that has been delegated to a staking pool. The staking pool "stakes" this ADA on the Cardano blockchain which contributes to the operation of the blockchain and earns rewards for all of its delegates.