Never Sell Your Bitcoin: Sats Terminal Founders on Securing Coinbase & Binance Backing, Bitcoin Loans and More

Sats Terminal is the first native Bitcoin super app, bringing together Bitcoin loans, yield, and trading in a single interface and developer SDK. Sats Terminal is backed by YZi Labs (formerly Binance Labs), Coinbase Ventures, and Draper Associates.

The founders of Sats Terminal recently joined the Bitcoin.com News Podcast to talk about the technology.

Stan Havryliuk (CEO and Co-Founder) and Rishabh Java (CTO and Co-Founder) of Sats Terminal shared their journey, starting with their backgrounds in crypto and fintech. Stan had previous experience with Bitcoin.com and running a large Eastern European exchange, while Java had built and sold a fintech company, finding crypto to be a more open building environment. The inspiration for Sats Terminal stemmed from a highly problematic user experience Stan encountered while trading BRC20s, which resulted in him overpaying significantly for a single token. This incident highlighted a clear need for good, user-friendly interfaces in the growing Bitcoin DeFi market to encourage wider adoption. The two founders met online while working on a previous project and formalized their partnership after meeting in person in Buenos Aires.

The company secured notable financial backing from major investors. Java's connection to Coinbase Ventures was established after winning an AI agent hackathon at their San Francisco office, which led to a successful pitch. Stan described how they were quickly accepted into the YZi Labs (aka Binance Labs) accelerator program after applying shortly before the deadline on a friend's recommendation, benefiting from a good product growth trajectory at the time. They also received early backing from the Draper family of VCs, including Draper Associates, Draper Dragon, and Boost VC. Stan's key advice for aspiring startups seeking funding is to "just keep building" and iterating fast, emphasizing that consistency compounds into success, alongside networking and participating in hackathons.

Java elaborated on the evolution of native Bitcoin assets, moving from Ordinals to BRC20s and then to the improved Runes standard. He reported that Sats Terminal has already captured approximately 70% of the market share for trading Runes, showcasing their success in the ecosystem. They also acknowledged that the Bitcoin ecosystem's complexity, due to the lack of a central authority, means the market will ultimately decide which token standard becomes the long-term winner.

The core of Sats Terminal's vision is encapsulated in their motto: "never sell your Bitcoin," but instead to make it work through products like trading, earning, and borrowing. Stan highlighted their belief that Bitcoin is the "only pristine collateral for loans," and their products are laying the groundwork for Bitcoin's transition from "digital gold" to a "productive asset." Java detailed their Borrow product as a self-custody, trust-minimized cross-chain loan solution where users can collateralize their Bitcoin for a loan without KYC. Stan announced that the first version of the Earn product, designed to simplify DeFi complexity for end-users, is being finalized and expected to go live in the next few weeks.

Stan Havryliuk, CEO and Co-Founder of Sats Terminal, early Bitcoin investor and Web3 veteran with over eight years of experience scaling crypto businesses worldwide. Ex-Bitcoin.com and zondacrypto.com (BitBay.com).

Rishabh Java, CTO and Co-Founder of Sats Terminal, serial entrepreneur, inventor, and Bitcoin builder with a proven track record of creating great technologies. Winner of 50 international hackathons, awarded by Steve Wozniak at 15 for BCI tech and exited Web2 startup at 21.

To learn more about the project visit the website, and follow the team on X.