Blockstream Expands in Europe With Acquisition of Swiss Crypto Firm Elysium Labs

Adam Back’s Bitcoin development firm, Blockstream, has acquired Swiss blockchain startup Elysium Labs. The acquisition will see the creation of a European incubator entity, Blockstream CH SAGL, according to an emailed announcement shared with CoinDesk on Monday. The deal terms weren’t disclosed by the firms. Blockstream is building momentum around its European ventures, following the inception of its Lugano Research Center, which is focused on product development of Bitcoin layer-2 networks Lightning and Liquid . The firm has not disclosed financial details of the acquisition. Blockstream CH SAGL will serve as a hub for Blockstream’s European operations alongside its Turin, Italy-based research and development team and the Lugano Research Center, according to Monday’s announcement. An early proponent of the cypherpunk movement , Blockstream CEO and co-founder Adam Back is a notable figure in Bitcoin lore. Back developed Hashcash in 1997 to combat email spam, which was a direct influence on Satoshi Nakamoto in creating Bitcoin’s proof-of-work mechanism, and was cited as such in the original whitepaper . “Bringing Elysium Lab into Blockstream strengthens our Swiss presence and amplifies our commitment to nurturing innovation across Europe,” Back said in Monday’s announcement. Read More: Adam Back’s Bitcoin Treasury Firm to Go Public with 30K BTC and $1.5B in Buying Power

Source: CoinDesk