Samson Mow leaves Blockstream, plans to focus on ‘nation-state Bitcoin adoption’

Published at: March 1, 2022

Blockstream chief strategy officer Samson Mow has announced he will be leaving the blockchain firm after five years.

In a Tuesday Twitter thread, Mow said he would continue to be a “#BlockstreamSpy” following his departure from the Canada-based firm where he had worked since April 2017. He said he would stay on as CEO of game development company Pixelmatic, a position in which more “attention is being demanded,” but planned to focus on “nation-state Bitcoin adoption” in the future.

”With everything happening at light speed in El Salvador, and more and more countries interested in adopting #Bitcoin, I found my time each day just no longer enough anymore,” said Mow. “So with @Blockstream in a very good place and well capitalized after a successful B round, it was the right time to move on. It also feels like now is a pivotal point in #Bitcoin’s evolution — we’re on the verge of mass adoption, and I think that I can make it happen faster.”

Today is my last day with @Blockstream. It's been a grand adventure working with @adam3us for the last 5 years and together we've accomplished a great deal from sidechains, to mining, to satellites. So what’s next? I plan to focus on nation-state #Bitcoin adoption!

— Samson Mow (@Excellion) March 1, 2022

Mow has been involved in plans to build a Bitcoin City in El Salvador. The project aims to use geothermal energy from the country’s Conchagua volcano to power Bitcoin (BTC) mining in the innovative city, which will be built at the foot of the mountain. According to the Pixelmatic CEO, a $1 million BTC price could help make the Latin American nation “the financial center of the world.”

The now-former Blockstream chief strategy officer added he would continue to “support and advocate” for Blockstream’s sidechain-based settlement network, Liquid, as “It has an important role to play in the reformation of the legacy financial system.” He previously worked as the chief operating officer of BTCC, the crypto exchange behind one of the largest mining pools in the world at the time, and as the director of production and executive producer at Ubisoft.

An advocate of Bitcoin for many years, Mow also recently made the Cointelegraph Top 100 for his work at Pixelmatic, Blockstream, the El Salvador project and more. The full list of some of the most influential in crypto and blockchain is now available.