Blockstream Appoints Sean Bill as Chief Investment Officer to Lead New Asset Management Division

Montreal, QC, Nov. 19, 2024 — Blockstream, the global leader in Bitcoin infrastructure technology, has announced the appointment of renowned hedge fund veteran Sean Bill as Chief Investment Officer. An accomplished investor and portfolio manager with over three decades of experience in traditional finance, Sean will lead a newly-established Asset Management Division at Blockstream aimed at further bridging the gap between Bitcoin and mainstream finance.

“We’re excited to welcome Sean Bill to Blockstream’s leadership team at a time when Bitcoin is hitting all-time highs and amid unprecedented levels of institutional interest,” said Dr. Adam Back, Co-Founder and CEO of Blockstream. “Sean’s extensive experience in traditional finance and early support for institutional Bitcoin adoption align perfectly with our mission to bring Bitcoin-based investment solutions into the mainstream.”

Expanding into Bitcoin-Based Financial & Investment Solutions

Sean’s appointment as CIO, alongside the creation of a new Asset Management Division, marks a strategic move for Blockstream towards delivering end-to-end, Bitcoin-based financial and investment solutions that not only support the Bitcoin ecosystem but also leverage Blockstream’s full technology stack, including the Liquid Network.

With bitcoin reaching new all-time highs, the timing is perfect for Sean to lead such a move, with Blockstream’s new asset management division aiming to develop ​ a continually expanding suite of innovative financial products to meet the growing demand for Bitcoin-based investment opportunities among investors.

“I am excited to join Blockstream at such a pivotal time in the industry,” said Sean Bill. “By combining my experience in finance with Blockstream’s pioneering work in Bitcoin technology, we aim to build new and innovative products that are technologically superior to existing solutions and meet the evolving needs of the market.”

Upcoming Bitcoin Financial Products

Products in development include:

These institutional products are designed to enhance liquidity by addressing the needs of bitcoin holders seeking to earn yields and those looking to access capital.

In developing these new financial products, Blockstream will leverage its Asset Management Platform (AMP) to tokenize a range of assets on the Liquid Network. AMP’s capabilities include whitelisted asset issuances and adherence to required AML/KYC standards. This will provide the secure, scalable foundation needed to bring Bitcoin-backed assets to the mainstream, building confidence in Bitcoin as an integral part of modern investment portfolios.

The Liquid Network is an open-source Bitcoin sidechain and layer-2 solution for which Blockstream is the technical provider. Today, Liquid boasts $1.8 billion of real-world assets (RWAs), including stablecoins, securities, and most recently, US Treasury bills. These assets on Liquid account for nearly 15% of the entire blockchain-based RWA market.

About Sean Bill

Sean joins Blockstream following a successful tenure as Chief Investment Officer at Prime Meridian Capital Management, a FinTech focused private credit manager that has funded over $1.8 billion in loans and specialty credit since its inception. During his tenure at Prime Meridian, the firm won Hedgeweek’s Multi-Strategy Credit Hedge Fund of the year award in 2022 and 2023.

Previously Sean served as the Treasurer & Chief Investment Officer at the Santa Clara VTA where he was responsible for the management and oversight of a multi-billion-dollar multi-asset class portfolio. He also served as a Trustee for the City of San Jose Pension Plan and as a Sr. Advisor to the San Francisco Employees Retirement System. Sean was named to Chief Investment Officer Magazine’s Power 100 list of the most influential institutional investors globally for 2021. 

Prior to entering public service, Sean was a Principal at Global Fixed Income Partners, LLC, a hedge fund based in Newport Beach California. He also served as a Senior Corporate Bond Trader at Bradford & Marzec, a multi-billion-dollar core plus fixed-income manager based in Los Angeles. Sean began his career at Refco, Ltd., on the Agriculture Floor at the Chicago Board of Trade.

An early advocate for bitcoin within the pension industry, Sean has been instrumental in promoting the adoption of digital assets in institutional investment portfolios. Sean has been a frequent guest on Bloomberg Television, CNBC, and Fox Business News. He is a graduate of Indiana University and the Stanford Graduate School of Business. 

For more information about Blockstream’s innovative financial solutions, please contact:

Fernando Nikolic, Blockstream Head of Marketing & Communications (fernando@blockstream.com) 

About Blockstream

Founded in 2014, Blockstream is a global leader in Bitcoin and blockchain infrastructure, with offices and team members distributed around the world. Our products and services form the foundations for the financial infrastructure of the future.

Serving as the technology provider for the Liquid Network, Blockstream offers a sidechain solution that enables secure, trustless Bitcoin swap settlements and robust smart contracts, empowering financial institutions to tokenize assets efficiently. 

The company’s Core Lightning is a leading implementation of the open Lightning Network protocol, widely adopted for enterprise Bitcoin Lightning Network deployments. 

Blockstream Jade, an open-source hardware wallet, delivers advanced security for Bitcoin and Liquid assets in an easy-to-use form factor. 

For consumers, Blockstream Green is a highly secure and user-friendly Bitcoin wallet.