Blockstream
Blockstream is a blockchain technology company focused on infrastructure, networks, and financial applications built around Bitcoin.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Blockstream is a privately held blockchain technology company founded in 2014 by cryptographer Adam Back together with Bitcoin developers and cryptographers including Pieter Wuille and Gregory Maxwell. Its business is centered on extending Bitcoin's utility through infrastructure that supports faster settlement, asset issuance, privacy, data distribution, mining, and institutional financial services. The company is best known for developing the Liquid Network, a Bitcoin sidechain designed to support more rapid and confidential transfers of bitcoin and other digital assets. Liquid connects to the Bitcoin main chain while maintaining a separate transaction environment in which participating institutions can move assets with shorter confirmation intervals. The production version of the network launched in 2018 after Blockstream announced an earlier prototype in 2015. The company has positioned Liquid as infrastructure for exchanges, traders, financial institutions, and other organizations that need settlement between platforms without relying exclusively on the Bitcoin base chain. Blockstream has also worked on Bitcoin connectivity through Blockstream Satellite. Announced in 2017, the service broadcasts Bitcoin blockchain data through satellites, allowing users to receive blockchain information without depending solely on conventional internet access. The satellite network was expanded in 2018 and became part of the company's broader effort to improve the resilience and geographic reach of Bitcoin infrastructure. The company has contributed to Bitcoin protocol and ecosystem development through engineering work, open-source software, and research. Blockstream developer Rusty Russell was among the early developers to attempt an implementation of the Lightning Network in 2015. Although Lightning is a broader Bitcoin ecosystem technology rather than a single Blockstream product, the company's engineering activity has contributed to the development of Bitcoin scaling and payment infrastructure. Blockstream's activities have expanded beyond protocol engineering into market data, mining, layer-2 technologies, and Bitcoin-related financial products. In early 2018, it announced a partnership with Intercontinental Exchange to launch a cryptocurrency market-data feed. The company has also raised substantial private capital to support expansion. It raised $21 million in seed funding in 2014, followed by a $210 million Series B round in August 2021 that valued the company at $3.2 billion. In October 2024, Blockstream announced a further $210 million convertible-note financing led by Fulgur Ventures, with proceeds intended for layer-2 development, mining operations, and Bitcoin treasury activities. Blockstream is headquartered in Menlo Park, California, and has additional offices in Lugano and Tokyo. Its positioning combines Bitcoin-focused infrastructure with enterprise-grade financial and communications services. Rather than presenting itself as a general-purpose blockchain platform, the company has concentrated its technical and commercial identity on Bitcoin and on systems intended to extend Bitcoin's capabilities while retaining a close relationship with the Bitcoin network.
History
Blockstream was established in 2014 by cryptographer Adam Back alongside Bitcoin developers and cryptographers including Pieter Wuille and Gregory Maxwell. The company emerged during a period when Bitcoin developers were investigating ways to increase the network's functionality without changing the role of the Bitcoin base chain. Its initial financing included a $21 million seed round, which supported work on sidechains, protocol engineering, and related infrastructure. One of Blockstream's central projects was Liquid. In October 2015, the company announced a prototype of a sidechain that could transfer assets between a separate chain and the Bitcoin main blockchain. The concept was intended to give market participants additional functionality, including faster transfers and support for assets other than ordinary on-chain bitcoin, while preserving a connection to Bitcoin. In October 2018, Blockstream released the production version under the name Liquid Network. Liquid was designed for use by exchanges, traders, and other participating institutions. Its architecture uses a separate sidechain with shorter block intervals than Bitcoin's main chain. Blockstream has described the network as a way to reduce transfer delays and friction between trading platforms and wallets, while also reducing some counterparty and settlement obstacles associated with moving assets through conventional exchange processes. The network became the company's principal institutional settlement offering. Blockstream also expanded into Bitcoin communications infrastructure. In 2017 it announced a satellite service capable of broadcasting the Bitcoin blockchain in one direction. The service was intended to make it possible to receive blockchain data without depending entirely on an internet connection. In 2018, the company expanded the satellite network, reinforcing its focus on resilience, global reach, and alternative routes for accessing Bitcoin data. The company's engineering work has included contributions to Bitcoin scaling and payment technologies. During the summer of 2015, Blockstream developer Rusty Russell was among the first developers to attempt an implementation of the Lightning Network. Lightning is a broader Bitcoin ecosystem project designed to support transactions through payment channels, and Blockstream's work formed part of the wider effort to develop practical off-chain payment infrastructure. In early 2018, Blockstream announced a partnership with Intercontinental Exchange to launch a cryptocurrency market-data feed. This represented an expansion from open-source and network infrastructure into information services for market participants. Over time, the company's stated scope also came to include mining operations, layer-2 technologies, and Bitcoin-related financial products. Blockstream's private-capital profile grew substantially after its founding. In August 2021, it raised $210 million in Series B financing and was reported to have reached a valuation of $3.2 billion. In October 2024, it raised another $210 million through a convertible-note offering led by Fulgur Ventures. The company said the later financing would support expansion of layer-2 technologies, mining operations, and Bitcoin treasury activities. Blockstream is headquartered in Menlo Park, California, with additional offices in Lugano and Tokyo. Its historical identity has remained closely tied to Bitcoin rather than to the broader category of general-purpose blockchain platforms. The company combines protocol and infrastructure engineering with institutional settlement, communications, mining, and financial applications, seeking to extend Bitcoin's practical use while maintaining Bitcoin as the core network around which its products are organized.
- 2024
Convertible-note financing
[1]Blockstream raised $210 million through a convertible-note offering led by Fulgur Ventures to support layer-2, mining, and Bitcoin treasury activities.
- 2021
Series B financing
[1]Blockstream raised $210 million in Series B financing at a reported valuation of $3.2 billion.
- 2018
Cryptocurrency market-data partnership announced
[1]Blockstream announced a partnership with Intercontinental Exchange to launch a cryptocurrency market-data feed.
- 2018
Liquid Network launches
[1]The production-ready Liquid Network was officially launched as a Bitcoin sidechain designed to support faster transfers and expanded asset functionality.
- 2017
Blockstream Satellite announced
[1]The company announced one-way satellite broadcasting of the full Bitcoin blockchain.
- 2015
Liquid sidechain prototype announced
[1]Blockstream announced a prototype for transferring assets between a Liquid sidechain and the Bitcoin main blockchain.
- 2015
Early Lightning Network implementation work
[1]Blockstream developer Rusty Russell became one of the first developers to attempt an implementation of the Lightning Network.
- 2014
Blockstream is founded
[1]Adam Back founded Blockstream with Bitcoin developers and cryptographers including Pieter Wuille and Gregory Maxwell. The company also raised $21 million in seed funding.
Products and positioning
Bitcoin-focused infrastructure provider serving developers, exchanges, financial institutions, miners, and other organizations that require settlement, connectivity, scaling, and financial services around the Bitcoin network.
Bitcoin sidechain and institutional settlement network · 2018
Liquid Network
Liquid is Blockstream's production Bitcoin sidechain. It is designed to allow participating exchanges, traders, and other institutions to transfer bitcoin and other digital assets in a separate environment linked to the Bitcoin main chain. Blockstream presents the network as a way to reduce settlement delays and transfer friction, with blocks added approximately every minute rather than at Bitcoin's typical ten-minute interval. The network launched in production in October 2018 after a prototype had been announced in 2015.
Blockchain data distribution · 2017
Blockstream Satellite
Blockstream Satellite broadcasts Bitcoin blockchain data through satellites in a one-way distribution model. The service was announced in 2017 and expanded in 2018. Its purpose is to provide an alternative method for receiving Bitcoin data, reducing reliance on conventional internet connectivity and supporting broader geographic access to the network.
Blockchain infrastructure
Bitcoin and blockchain infrastructure services
Blockstream develops infrastructure and software related to Bitcoin protocol development, layer-2 technologies, mining, market data, and Bitcoin-native financial applications. The reference material does not identify a single unified product name for all of these activities, but they form the broader service portfolio surrounding Liquid and Blockstream Satellite.
Brand decisions
2024
Fund expansion of layer-2, mining, and treasury activitiesStrategyBackground
Blockstream raised additional capital as it broadened its activities beyond core protocol and sidechain development.
Action taken
The company completed a $210 million convertible-note offering led by Fulgur Ventures.
Aftermath
The stated uses of funds were expansion of layer-2 technologies, mining operations, and Bitcoin treasury activities.
Convertible-note financing. $210 million raised (October 2024)
2018
Move Liquid from prototype to productionProduct launchBackground
Blockstream's sidechain work was intended to improve settlement speed and provide additional asset functionality for Bitcoin market participants.
Action taken
Blockstream officially launched the production-ready Liquid Network.
Aftermath
Liquid became a flagship institutional settlement and asset-transfer network associated with Blockstream.
2018
Expand into cryptocurrency market dataStrategyBackground
Blockstream sought to extend its Bitcoin infrastructure activities toward services for professional market participants.
Action taken
The company announced a partnership with Intercontinental Exchange to launch a cryptocurrency market-data feed.
Aftermath
The partnership marked a move beyond network engineering into market-information services.
2017
Launch satellite distribution of Bitcoin blockchain dataProduct launchBackground
Dependence on internet connectivity can limit access to Bitcoin blockchain data in some locations. Blockstream pursued satellite broadcasting as an alternative distribution channel.
Action taken
The company announced one-way satellite broadcasting of the full Bitcoin blockchain and expanded the network in 2018.
Aftermath
Blockstream Satellite became part of the company's broader infrastructure portfolio focused on resilient and geographically broad Bitcoin access.
2015
Develop and announce the Liquid sidechain prototypeProduct launchBackground
Blockstream sought to extend Bitcoin's functionality while keeping a connection to the Bitcoin main blockchain. A sidechain prototype was selected as the basis for faster and more flexible asset transfers.
Action taken
The company announced a prototype enabling transfers between the Liquid sidechain and Bitcoin's main chain.
Aftermath
The prototype was later developed into the production Liquid Network, which launched in 2018 for institutional and market-participant use.
Recent events
Reported
Blockstream agrees to acquire Adamant Capital[2]
Blockstream announced that it had agreed to acquire Adamant Capital. The acquisition is described as providing the foundation for Blockstream Finance, a division focused on Bitcoin investment products.
Reported
Blockstream, Digital Garage and Tokyo Tanshi launch Settlenet[3]
Blockstream, Digital Garage and Tokyo Tanshi announced the launch of Settlenet, a non-custodial digital asset settlement platform designed to help foreign enterprises conduct business in Japan.
Reported
Blockstream upgrades Satellite Network[4]
Blockstream announced an upgrade to its satellite network, with Satellite 2.0 enabling users to synchronize an entire Bitcoin node without an internet connection.
Reported
Blockstream announces satellite kit preorders[4]
Blockstream announced preorders for its new Satellite Kits, including Basic and Pro kits and a Flat Panel Antenna with an integrated LNB.
Reported
BTSE announces public sale of its exchange token[5]
BTSE announced that its exchange token sale, described as the first of its kind on Blockstream's Liquid Network, would open to the public on March 5, 2020. The token was set to be listed on the BTSE Exchange after the public sale was completed.
Sources5 sources
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