Like high-yield savings accounts that accrue interest, blockchain proof-of-stake like Ethereum encourages users to lock up their cryptocurrencies for the security of the network in exchange for more currency over time. It's a process called staking, but the caveat is that recovering ether can be a long and unpredictable process. Mara Schmidt, 29, wants to solve this problem with her software company Alluvial. Alluvial works with clients like Coinbase, Bitcoin Suisse, Figment, and six other cryptocurrency platforms to share ether for its users. Thanks to Alluvial, Ether owners can sell their cryptocurrencies to users on competing platforms – increasing the pool of potential buyers. “Visa was a company created in collaboration with competitors,” she says. “We have the same model. We're linking a lot of different platforms together to build this market, and that's really difficult.” This also means that users can cancel their Ether stake at any moment – Alluvial provides them with a receipt in place of actual Ether, which they can then use to buy or sell with others. Coinbase and Figment are also investors in Alluvial, which has raised $18 million to date.
