River, a U.S based Bitcoin technology and financial services startup announced the completion of a $35 million equity round. Kingsway Capital led the Series B funding with notable investments from individuals, including Paypal co-founder Peter Thiel, Cygni, Goldcrest and Valor Equity Partners, and Esas Ventures. In a Series A round in 2021, River raised $12 million.
In a press statement, River’s CEO, Alex Leishman, stated that the new wave of Bitcoin interest is “largely driven by business and institutional adoption”. He also added
“It’s not fueled by hype; this year’s bank failures and bailouts have been a wake-up call, revealing the cracks of the traditional financial system and reminding us why Bitcoin is so important—it’s a secure path to a stronger and more transparent global economy. Adopting Bitcoin with a trusted partner is no longer the speculative choice, but rather the prudent one.”
River hopes to facilitate an honest and flourishing financial system through the use of Bitcoin. The financial services company offers a group of Bitcoin services, including Bitcoin brokerage with zero-fee recurring orders, full-reserve custody, mining, and a Bitcoin wallet that supports both on-chain and Lightning Network transactions.
River Pioneers Lightning Network Adoption
Last year, River announced the launch of River Lightning, an application programming interface (AP) that permits companies to connect their applications to the Lightning Network easily. Some crypto apps are already using River Lightning to facilitate instant Bitcoin transactions.
Demand for Lightning transactions has continued to grow rapidly since last year, with new levels in recent weeks by rising on-chain fees. River intends to directly serve individuals and businesses and also serve the Bitcoin payments back-end for the industry. Part of the series funding will be used to further build out the B2B Lightning segment.
Leishman said that financial service companies have deep Bitcoin expertise and focus. Comparing River to other crypto companies, Leishman reckoned that the company does not take shortcuts and remains mission-driven with full-bitcoin reserves. The new funding would enable River to continue playing its part in driving Bitcoin adoption.
