Strike, River Financial, and Block's Spiral team have combined to post 67 new roles in Q1 2026 — the highest quarterly count in our database since the Lightning Network boom of 2021–2022.
Strike: The Global Payments Push
Strike posted 22 new roles in March 2026 alone. Eight in business development (all "international" or "emerging markets"), 4 Lightning infrastructure engineering, 3 compliance (FinCEN and FATF focused). This is the El Salvador corridor playbook being replicated globally.
River Financial: The Bitcoin-Only Custodian Pivots Institutional
River is hiring for institutional sales for the first time — an "Institutional Sales Manager" and "RIA Partnership Lead" signal a direct pivot toward the RIA channel. Bitcoin ETF inflows are the catalyst.
Spiral (Block): Developer Tooling Bet
Block's Bitcoin subsidiary posted 12 roles this quarter, concentrated in open-source tooling: 5 protocol engineers, 2 developer relations, a Bitcoin Design Lead. Spiral is doubling down on the thesis that Bitcoin's growth depends on developer experience.
The Signal
When payment infrastructure companies hire BD before product, it means they have product-market fit and are in distribution mode. All three companies show this pattern simultaneously.