Blockstream is a global leader in Bitcoin and blockchain technology, founded in 2014 by Dr. Adam Back (inventor of Hashcash) and a team of cryptographers and developers. The company builds financial infrastructure based on Bitcoin, including the Liquid Network (sidechain for faster settlements and asset tokenization), Lightning Network implementations, self-custody wallets (Blockstream Green and Jade hardware wallet), block explorers, and satellite broadcasting for Bitcoin data. Blockstream historically operated mining colocation services and hosted enterprise miners, purchasing hardware like $25M WhatsMiner rigs in 2021 and deploying facilities with 300 MW capacity. However, in 2025, Blockstream spun out its mining division as an independent company (Blockstream Mining, with $350M financing) and its ASIC division separately, pivoting core focus to layer-2 networks (Liquid/Lightning), custody tools, and institutional Bitcoin products. The company remains influential in Bitcoin development (contributions to Core) and sustainability (e.g., renewable mining partnerships), but mining operations are now separate entities.

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