About River Financial
Founded in 2019, River Financial is a Bitcoin-focused financial services company. In May 2023, it raised $35 million in a Series B round led by Kingsway Capital, with participation from Peter Thiel, Goldcrest, Cygni, M13, and others. The funding was directed toward expanding its B2B Lightning Network infrastructure (River Lightning) and core brokerage services.
River introduced banking features that pay interest in bitcoin on cash deposits, with funds held at partner banks and FDIC-insured up to $250,000. It also established a full-reserve custody model, keeping 100% of client bitcoin in cold storage and publishing monthly Proof of Reserves to verify asset backing.
A notable long-term milestone is River's role as a Lightning Network infrastructure provider, enabling instant bitcoin payments for companies like El Salvador's Chivo wallet. This positions River not just as a retail platform but as a backend for Bitcoin payments across the crypto industry.
In the past six months, River Financial's key progress: 1) Launched Banking with Bitcoin: FDIC-insured cash accounts, 3.3% annual yield on cash paid in bitcoin, direct deposit with auto-invest in bitcoin, bill payments in cash or bitcoin, and zero account fees.
Published 2025 financials and monthly Proof of Reserves, emphasizing 100% cold storage of client bitcoin.
Released Q2 2026 bitcoin ownership change and demand analysis, noting Strategy's STRC bought 77,000 BTC in 2026, and Morgan Stanley's spot bitcoin ETF MSBT attracted over $100 million in its first week.
Supported everyday bitcoin adoption: 4M+ merchants now accept bitcoin, and Coinbase launched a Fannie Mae-backed bitcoin-collateralized mortgage product.
Future focus: continue building an integrated financial account for "saving in bitcoin, spending in dollars"; expand bitcoin banking services such as interest, payments and bill pay; maintain security and transparency; and drive broader adoption of bitcoin in mainstream finance and daily life.
Alexander Leishman (Co-founder, CEO & CTO): Previously engineer at Airbnb, early engineer at Maicoin, and investment/engineering roles at Polychain Capital. Holds M.S. in CS from Stanford and B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from University of Maryland.
Julia Duzon (COO): Previously Senior Director at First Republic Bank, consultant at Deloitte, and co-founder of Clear Lending. MBA from Stanford GSB, BA from Duke University.