Blockstream, a Canadian global provider of Bitcoin-based financial infrastructure, has announced its acquisition of Swiss digital asset company Elysium Lab.

The deal will also mark the launch of Blockstream CH SAGL, the company’s new European headquarters and incubator entity, based in Lugano.

The move reflects Blockstream’s continued engagement with Switzerland’s fintech sector and its broader expansion efforts across Europe.

The new entity will coordinate European initiatives in collaboration with the Lugano Research Center, launched in November 2024, and Blockstream’s R&D team in Turin.

This network aims to support product development, research, and community involvement in Bitcoin-focused technologies.

“Incorporating Elysium Lab into Blockstream strengthens our Swiss presence and amplifies our commitment to nurturing innovation across Europe,”

said Dr Adam Back, CEO and co-founder of Blockstream.

“This acquisition reinforces our strategic expansion in the region and underscores our role as an ecosystem builder.”

To support growth in the sector, Blockstream is offering CHF 100,000 grants to startups and developers relocating to Lugano to build on its technologies, such as the Liquid Network.

First introduced at the 2024 Plan ₿ Forum, the initiative is intended to encourage further development within the Bitcoin ecosystem in Switzerland.

Founded in 2022 by Aron Clementi and Gianmarco Guazzo, Elysium Lab established itself as a notable presence in Switzerland’s Bitcoin sector.

Its team will now join Blockstream to contribute to ongoing infrastructure and product development efforts.

“As a Swiss founder, I’m proud to help carry forward our country’s long-standing tradition of financial innovation.”

said Guazzo,

“We built Elysium to bring Bitcoin to the masses. Becoming part of Blockstream lets us take that work further, and on a much larger scale with a team whose technical leadership and mission closely align with our own.”

As part of the transaction, Blockstream has also acquired Elysium Lab’s patents and intellectual property.

 

Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on image by laraslk via Freepik