Blockstream

Blockstream is a Bitcoin company in the Infrastructure category, founded in 2014 by Adam Back, Austin Hill, Gregory Maxwell.

The Idea

Back founded the company to develop privacy, security, and scaling solutions for Bitcoin. Includes Liquid Network (a Bitcoin sidechain) and expand Bitcoin's capabilities without changing the core protocol.

Early Traction

Blockstream launched in 2014 with an all-star roster of Bitcoin cryptographers and Core developers, led by Adam Back, whose 1997 Hashcash is one of the few works cited in the Bitcoin whitepaper. It raised $21M in seed funding and that same year published the foundational sidechains paper laying out how Bitcoin could be extended without changing its core protocol.

Peak Stats

Raised a $210M Series B in 2021, led by Baillie Gifford and Bitfinex operator iFinex, at a $3.2B valuation that made it a unicorn. Built Liquid Network, a Bitcoin sidechain holding thousands of BTC in pegged liquidity, c-lightning, a leading Lightning Network implementation, and Blockstream Satellite, which broadcasts the Bitcoin blockchain to Earth from space. One of the most technically sophisticated Bitcoin R&D teams in the world.

Status Today

Active. Continues to develop Liquid Network, Simplicity programming language, and other Bitcoin scaling tech.