Bitcoin brokerage River Financial raises $5.7 million seed round

River Financial, a bitcoin brokerage started by former Polychain capital employee Alex Leishman raised $5.7 million from his former firm along with Slow Ventures, Castle Island Ventures, DG Lab Fund, Cygni, Pfeffer Capital and IDEO CoLab Ventures. Unlike other crypto brokerages, River is focused exclusively on bitcoin and plans to remain at the forefront of technical upgrades for the protocol. The company also caters to the wealthier clientele, offering high touch services such as direct phone calls to help customers with their accounts.

Why it matters

• Most crypto brokerages have focused on servicing the broad retail market, however, the high net worth individuals who require additional help and more advanced services have more or less been neglected. River hopes to fill in this gap which serves this market, particularly among the older generations which account for 77% of the firm’s customers.
• River’s volume has increased 80% month over month with the number of clients doubling since the start of the year. This goes to show that a market exists for people looking solely for bitcoin as a hedge against potential inflation rather than speculating on the potential value of other crypto assets.

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