KEY POINTS
- River says client cash is held at Lead Bank, a federally chartered US bank, with FDIC insurance up to $250,000 per depositor.
- It says 100% of client bitcoin deposits are in cold storage, and that it publishes a monthly Proof of Reserves.
- It describes itself as a brokerage, not an exchange, and says it sources liquidity from multiple OTC desks.
- It describes Lightning, River Link and ForceField withdrawal limits as part of how bitcoin moves in and out.
This is River's own description of its custody and payments design. It walks through funding an account, how cash and bitcoin are custodied, how on-chain and Lightning withdrawals work, paying bills, and how interest on cash is handled.
Because it describes one company's setup, treat it as a case study in how a bitcoin company explains its custody, not as a comparison across providers. For the general ideas, see the custody report summary and the Learn section.
Summary written by @parachutesBTC. The original belongs to River; read it for the full text, data and sources.