Early Riders: Texas-Based Accelerator To Fund Bitcoin Start-ups with Up To 5 BTC

Bitcoin Magazine

Early Riders: Texas-Based Accelerator To Fund Bitcoin Start-ups with Up To 5 BTC

Early Riders, a Bitcoin-focused venture fund, has launched The Stables, an accelerator program in Texas Hill Country to support Bitcoin start-ups worldwide. The program offers 2-5 BTC in funding, a four-week residency and access to Bitcoin developers and operators, targeting start-ups with market-ready solutions in financial services and technology.

Michael Tanguma, founder of Early Riders and Onramp, a Bitcoin financial services firm, told Bitcoin Magazine, “We focus on consumer investments that have commercial viability today — things that people want and will pay for today.” The Stables accelerator targets start-ups addressing immediate market needs, particularly in Bitcoin financial services, leveraging multi-institution custody for lending, bit bonds, and real estate debt facilities. It has a focus on regions like Latin America, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific, where fiat-to-Bitcoin on-ramps are critical for adoption. It seeks consumer-focused solutions like secure custody, inheritance planning and seamless fiat-to-BTC conversions, addressing challenges where users struggle to enter safely and hold bitcoin. 

“Historical examples are Lightning and payments. People don’t really use them. We want them to be used, and on the margins they are, but people still have trouble getting into Bitcoin — meaning turning their local fiat currency into BTC, then custodying it in a safe way, thinking about inheritance and all those examples,” Tanguma explained about the type of start-ups they are interested in. He added that, “Google is integrating USDC stablecoins into their new AI programs — we know it will make sense for economic activity in a digital world, especially with AI, to be using satoshis instead because it has a better design surface and more programmability.”

The Stables is accepting submissions immediately, selecting five top candidates for a demo day with Early Riders’ limited partners and advisors. The winner receives between 2 and 5 BTC, based on bitcoin’s price and project needs, plus a four-week residency in Texas. The facility provides childcare, wellness amenities and a rural setting to foster focus. The program will run annually, with the initial cohort scheduled for summer 2026.

Early Riders emphasizes Bitcoin-driven efficiency: “When you have a cost of capital that is bitcoin… growing on an annual basis anywhere between 30 to 50% a year… you just get really efficient with how you hire, the kind of tools you use,” Tanguma told Bitcoin Magazine. This approach, he said, helps Bitcoin start-ups prioritize sound unit economics over fiat-driven growth.

The program is global, with Early Riders’ investments all over the world. “This is a global opportunity. We have a global footprint with investments in the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America. We want to encourage Bitcoin investors and rationalists — people who don’t want their money debased — to get excited, learn more and reach out to see how we can plug them in,” Tanguma told Bitcoin Magazine. The accelerator offers a follow-on funding pathway with access to over 50 investors.

Tanguma’s experience at Unchained and with high-net-worth clients at Ten31 shapes the focus on multi-institution custody, which he described as offering “10x the security of self-custody but at one-tenth the friction or time.” The Stables aims to support start-ups driving Bitcoin adoption through practical solutions.

This post Early Riders: Texas-Based Accelerator To Fund Bitcoin Start-ups with Up To 5 BTC first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Juan Galt.