Blockstream: A Versatile Player in the Bitcoin Field

In the Bitcoin ecosystem, Blockstream plays an important role. Established in 2014, this company has become a key player in the Bitcoin industry chain, involved in multiple fields ranging from software development to hardware manufacturing.

In August 2021, Blockstream completed a $210 million Series B financing and acquired the Israeli ASIC chip design team Spondoolies. This marked the company's gradual expansion from its initial software-centric business to the upstream segment of the Bitcoin industry chain.

Blockstream's product matrix is very rich, covering almost all aspects of the Bitcoin ecosystem. In the early days, the company mainly focused on providing Liquid sidechain solutions for institutional clients. Later, by acquiring Green Wallet, Blockstream began to venture into consumer-grade products. The company also maintains several free Bitcoin ecological products, such as the Bitcoin full node satellite network Blockstream Satellite, the multi-signature wallet Blockstream Green, and the Lightning Network client c-lightning.

In early 2020, Blockstream announced the launch of Bitcoin mining services, collaborating with multiple companies to engage in Bitcoin mining operations. The company also introduced the "Blockstream Energy" service, aimed at helping energy producers sell excess electricity to miners, improving power generation efficiency and enhancing the economics of global renewable energy projects.

In chip manufacturing, Blockstream has addressed its shortcomings in ASIC chip design and manufacturing by acquiring the intellectual property of Spondoolies. In addition, the company has launched a Bitcoin mining token for qualified investors, the Blockstream Mining Note (BMN).

The core of the Blockstream product matrix is the Bitcoin sidechain "Liquid". As a second-layer network for Bitcoin, Liquid allows for the issuance of security tokens and other digital assets, aiming to provide financial products and services through the Bitcoin network, and is used for the settlement of financial assets.

Blockstream plays an important role in the Bitcoin community, but it has also sparked some controversy. The company has gathered a group of excellent Bitcoin core developers who contribute to the daily code development and maintenance of Bitcoin. However, the fact that these developers are employees of the company has raised questions among some about the independence of Bitcoin core development.

In the Bitcoin scaling debate, Blockstream represents the opposition. They believe that, in the long term, network congestion issues should be resolved through layer two networks rather than directly increasing block size. This position has led to disagreements with some miner representatives and other community members.

Blockstream often engages in debates with the Ethereum community. Company executives have repeatedly stated that a truly decentralized financial system can only be built through Bitcoin, the Lightning Network, and Liquid, and that Ethereum cannot achieve this.

Overall, Blockstream plays a versatile role in the Bitcoin ecosystem, involving multiple aspects of the Bitcoin industry chain from technical development to commercial applications. Although the company has sparked some controversy in the community, its contributions and influence on the Bitcoin ecosystem cannot be ignored.