River Financial Sues Blockstream Services Canada Over Mining Settlement

River Financial, a Peter Thiel-backed bitcoin brokerage led by Alex Leishman, has filed a lawsuit against Blockstream Services Canada, a bitcoin mining services firm that was spun out of Adam Back's Blockstream.

According to River's complaint, Blockstream Services Canada stopped making payments and defaulted on a multi-million dollar settlement on March 31, 2026. The company, once part of Blockstream Corporation but now only licensing the name after a mid-2024 spin-off, remained in default until September 11 when River filed its lawsuit.

A US magistrate judge has recused himself from the case, and the court reassigned it to a different judge on September 15.

Christopher Cook, the president of Blockstream Services Canada, signed the early termination agreement with River on December 13, 2024. Two researchers report that Cook is a convicted felon who served over a year in prison for an unrelated fraud conviction.

The current lawsuit stems from December 2021, when River entered into a managed hosting agreement with Blockstream Services Canada. At that time, Leishman was launching River Mining, offering hosted bitcoin miners.

JUST IN: River exchange sues Canadian Bitcoin miner for $6.7M

– Alleges unpaid refunds after contract was cancelled.

– Mining unit was spun out of Blockstream US in early 2025.

— Bitcoin Archive (@BitcoinArchive) September 26, 2026

River Seeks Return of Bitcoin Mining Prepayments

As part of that rollout, River prepaid nearly $7.8 million in 2021 and 2022 for three Hosting Services Orders, placing funds with Blockstream for various services.

By December 13, 2024, Blockstream still held $4.3 million of those prepayments, and the two firms agreed to sign a termination agreement to wind down the project.

On December 13, 2024, both parties signed an exit agreement. Under its terms, Blockstream owed River approximately $3.5 million in refunds for prepaid hosting fees and $3.1 million as an early termination fee, totaling $6.7 million.

The amount was to be paid in monthly installments of $239,389.40, beginning August 1, 2025.

4,000 BTC Departed Blockstream’s Liquid Network

Some observers worried the lawsuit's timing might be linked to the recent hack of the Blockstream-supported Liquid network, but Protos, having reviewed all documents from the PACER docket, confirms the two events are completely unrelated.

In fact, River claims the first missed payment happened roughly six months before the Liquid Network hack occurred.

Starting April 10, River sent demand letters to Blockstream Services Canada regarding overdue payments, warning that unpaid sums would accrue interest at 9.75%.

River also states that Blockstream Services Canada acknowledged the outstanding balance in writing on May 27.

The lawsuit alleges breach of contract and unjust enrichment.