bitcoin-custody
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Alex Leishman and the patience of a Bitcoin builder
An aerospace graduate took a programming class, found Bitcoin, and changed careers. At River, Alex Leishman is still working through the same question: what would a financial institution built around it actually look like?
Joseph Kelly Learned to Let Go - Then Built a Company Around Holding On
A teenage life at sea taught Joe Kelly that control is precious and certainty is mostly theatre. Years later, he turned that lesson into Unchained - a financial company designed so no single party holds all the keys.
Alexander Leishman
Alexander Leishman is the Founder, CEO, and CTO of River, a Bitcoin-only financial institution built to provide brokerage, custody, and mining services to individuals and institutions. With a background spanning aerospace engineering at the University of Maryland, computer science at Stanford, and security engineering at Airbnb, Leishman co-founded River in 2019 after stints at MaiCoin, Deloitte, and Polychain Capital. River has raised over $17.7 million in venture funding and became the first Bitcoin-only exchange to publicly release its financial statements in April 2025. Leishman also serves on the board of Brink, a Bitcoin research and development nonprofit.