Executive
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Alexander Leishman
Co-Founder & CEO at River
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Alexander Leishman is an American computer scientist, cryptographer, and the CEO of River. With a background in aerospace engineering and security, he co-founded River in 2019 to build a premier, vertically integrated Bitcoin financial institution. He is a prominent advocate for the Lightning Network and has structured River’s strategy around proprietary, in-house custody and transaction infrastructure, rejecting reliance on third-party custodial APIs.
- Proprietary In-House Custody Directed the development of River’s in-house cold-storage custody system. By maintaining internal custody of client assets and rejecting third-party providers, River bypassed industry systemic points of failure.
- Stanford Cryptographic Education (2015) Co-taught Stanford University’s first formal course on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies (CS 251) alongside legendary cryptographer Dr. Dan Boneh.
- River Lightning API Rails Oversees the deployment of River’s enterprise-grade Lightning Network node infrastructure. Historically, River served as a key backend infrastructure partner for El Salvador’s national Chivo wallet during its initial integration phases.
Liquidity Events: 0 (River is Private)
Venture Funding: ~$50M+ (Cumulative)
Est. Net Worth: Private / Undisclosed
| Years | Company | Role | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 – Pres. | River | Co-Founder & CEO | Processed billions in transactions; holding corporate BTC treasury. |
| 2017 – 2018 | Polychain Capital | Software Engineer & Investment Associate | Assessed cryptographic protocols and investment targets. |
| 2015 – 2016 | Airbnb | Software Engineer (Security) | Focused on systems security and application defense. |
| 2012 – 2014 | NCC Group | Security Consultant | Conducted cryptographic audits and pen testing. |
Active Capital & Corporate Initiatives:
🔌 Proprietary Bitcoin Custody
🔌 River Link SMS Payments
🔌 Corporate BTC Balance Sheet Holding
Nostr npub
npub1leishmans6j3740wypg6jssdqefskn4u2j4x2l2vgn0w07ksfceq9n7w72
Lightning Address
leishman@river.com
GitHub Profile
@leishman
LinkedIn Profile
Alexander Leishman
𝕏 Twitter: @Leishman
💼 PGP: NA (Nostr Signed Events)