Original article by: Omar Faridi

Original title: Blockstream Acquires $210M Led by Fulgur Ventures to Enable L2 Growth, Expand Bitcoin (BTC) Treasury

Original source: Crowdfund Insider

Compiled by: Koala, Mars Finance

Blockstream is a leading blockchain development company founded in 2014. Blockstream's core focus is developing new infrastructure for the traditional financial system, with key developments centered around Bitcoin sidechains and other blockchain-related applications. Their flagship technologies include their own implementation of the Lighting protocol and the Elements Project, a blockchain platform that supports open source sidechains. Blockstream has launched a number of products such as Liquid (a Bitcoin-based inter-exchange settlement network), Blockstream Green (a secure Bitcoin wallet), and other products that provide real-time and historical cryptocurrency transaction data, as well as hosting services for Bitcoin mining operations.

Blockstream has reportedly closed a $210 million convertible note funding round led by Fulgur Ventures, marking a major shift in its evolution as a global financial infrastructure technology provider powered by flagship cryptocurrency Bitcoin (BTC).

The capital injection will be used to accelerate the market adoption and development of Blockstream’s L2 technology, expand its mining operations, prepare for the next Bitcoin market cycle, and grow Blockstream’s Bitcoin Treasury.

Blockstream’s L2 solution powers the Liquid and Lightning Networks, meeting enterprise demand for “secure and scalable” Bitcoin-based financial products.

These solutions combine the security and “reliability” of the public Bitcoin blockchain with the flexibility of private or “federated” enterprise deployments.

Capitalizing on institutional interest in Bitcoin as an “asset class” and the broader potential of asset tokenization,

Liquid explicitly aims to become the “de facto infrastructure” for assets in the Bitcoin ecosystem, “enabling the integration of tokenized and real-world assets (RWAs) into traditional financial markets.”

The Liquid Network was conceived by Dr. Adam Back and other cryptographers to build open, more decentralized global financial markets on Bitcoin. The network launched in 2018 as Bitcoin’s first production sidechain.

Liquid is operated by a global distributed consortium of more than 70 members and technology provider Blockstream. Its advantages include fast and confidential settlements, as well as "a simple and secure way to issue digital assets (such as stablecoins and security tokens) without the risks associated with complex smart contracts."

To date, a total of over $1.8 billion in assets have been issued on Liquid, including stablecoins, tokenized bonds, and securities, and “the network has over 3,844 BTC locked on-chain.”

One area where Liquid is gaining traction is in the real-world asset (RWA) space.

Use cases include fintech innovator Mifiel’s issuance of over $1 billion in Liquid-based digital promissory notes, setting a “precedent for the country’s non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) to access global liquidity.”

Another example is Blockstream partner STOKR’s issuance of MicroStrategy Note (CMSTR), a security token for the Bitcoin ecosystem “fully backed by shares of a Nasdaq-listed company.”

CMSTR can be traded peer-to-peer with Bitcoin on SideSwap, “a decentralized exchange built on Liquid.”

In July 2024, the Blockstream Mining Note was launched. BMN2 is an EU-compliant hashrate-backed security token that builds on the success of its predecessor, BMN1, which achieved “cash-on-cash returns of up to 103% over three years – one of the highest payouts in the history of RWA securities.”

The Liquid Network works alongside Blockstream’s Lightning Network implementation, Core Lightning (CLN), and managed cloud infrastructure service Greenlight.

The integration brings together the issuance and trading of assets, stablecoins and Bitcoin, putting Blockstream among competitors that are “focused on payments or token issuance.”

To guide the next phase of growth, Blockstream has appointed Michael Minkevich as Chief Operating Officer.

Michael has experience developing technology solutions for traditional industries including finance.