Exit: Elysium Lab acquired by Blockstream

Blockstream, a global leader in Bitcoin and blockchain infrastructure, announced the acquisition of Elysium Lab, a Lugano-based startup developing authentication and digital asset security technologies. The acquisition strengthens Blockstream’s presence in Switzerland and marks a new phase in its international growth strategy.

Founded in 2022 by Aron Clementi (CEO) and Gianmarco Guazzo (CTO), Elysium Lab is a recognised player in Switzerland’s Bitcoin landscape and member of the Lugano Plan B initiative, which has raised close to CHF 1 million in dilutive and non-dilutive funds. Today the team is made up of 10 people with diverse backgrounds, from product development to marketing and cryptography. Since December 2023, Elysium Lab is incubated at the USI Startup Centre.

In 2024, the startup launched its self-custody wallet for Bitcoin, Lightning, Liquid assets, and stablecoins in over 30 countries. To mitigate the risks of stored keys, centralised custody, and user error, Elysium Lab developed KARE SDK, a keyless authentication framework for which a patent application has been filed. It eliminates the need for seed phrases while preserving full user control and privacy, offering both seamless onboarding and secure recovery.

Blockstream has been active in Ticino since November 2024, when it opened a Research Centre in Lugano to accelerate the development of financial products enabled by the Liquid Network. The acquisition of Elysium further strengthens this commitment and marks the official launch of Blockstream CH SAGL, Blockstream’s new European headquarters and incubator entity. The Elysium Lab team will transition to Blockstream and contribute to its mission of advancing Bitcoin infrastructure and financial innovation in the region.

Aron Clementi, Co-Founder and CEO of Elysium Lab, commented:

"Joining Blockstream allows us to contribute to a broader vision of Bitcoin-native infrastructure worldwide, alongside one of the industry’s most respected names. As a Swiss founder, I’m proud to help carry forward our country’s long-standing tradition of financial innovation.”

Gianmarco Guazzo, Co-founder and CTO of Elysium Lab, added:

"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."

About Blockstream

Founded in 2014, Blockstream is a global leader in Bitcoin and blockchain infrastructure, with offices and team members distributed around the world. 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, the Blockstream App is a highly secure and user-friendly Bitcoin wallet.

About Elysium Lab

Elysium Lab is a Swiss digital security company founded by Aron Clementi and Gianmarco Guazzo, two entrepreneurs at the forefront of Bitcoin usability and keyless authentication. Based in Lugano, the company is part of the Lugano Plan B initiative and USI Startup Centre, reflecting Switzerland’s growing leadership in Bitcoin infrastructure.