Theya’s vision and offerings
Theya’s vaults utilize a 2-of-3 multisig configuration, meaning that two of the three private key owners must approve any transaction to take place. Theya secures one of the keys while the user(s) retain the other two.
“There’s an evident market for us to explore. Everyone is fixated on making quick profits. Numerous individuals strive to create a token, and they perceived that ‘These individuals are doing something distinctive and addressing a gap where substantial products are lacking,’” he added.
Theya’s forthcoming plans and objectives
But who would be willing to invest in a company that offers part of its product for free to pursue its mission?
Sriram Bhargav Karnati is convinced that exceptional security and user-friendliness can coexist when it comes to bitcoin management.
One of the most notable venture capital (VC) firms in the broader cryptocurrency and technology arena — Y Combinator — would be the answer.
“Our goal is to simplify self-custody for everyone,” Karnati stated.
“[We] aim to make it incredibly easy for users to start and ensure long-term storage is very manageable.”
“You can establish a family wallet with your partner. Before Theya, that kind of product wasn’t available,” he added.
However, Y Combinator valued more than just the founders’ backgrounds.
Theya charges an annual fee of 9 for this service.
“If you examine the trillion-dollar giants — the major tech players: Apple, Google, Facebook — they all offer fantastic products accessible to the average person. However, when it comes to Bitcoin, there’s no product that is genuinely user-friendly without requiring security engineering skills or technical knowledge,” he continued.
So what captured Y Combinator’s attention regarding Theya?
Karnati and his team are primarily focused on integrating an exchange into the app, allowing users to buy bitcoin directly within the app and transfer it to cold storage. His drive for including this feature stems from recognizing the limitations of existing Bitcoin and crypto exchanges, including one he previously worked for — Robinhood.
To kickstart Theya, Karnati and his co-founders secured funding from Y Combinator, renowned for propelling startups in the broader crypto sector — often those that launch their own crypto tokens — rather than exclusively Bitcoin-focused ventures.
Drawing from Karnati’s experience in creating consumer solutions for leading firms like Google and Robinhood, combined with his extensive knowledge of Bitcoin, he appears to be the ideal figure to make multisig Bitcoin vaults widely accessible.
Source: bitcoinmagazine.com
Nonetheless, Karnati and the Theya team recognize that not everyone will choose a multisig arrangement immediately, particularly one with a fee associated.
“[These platforms] impose withdrawal restrictions, which can be cumbersome for [users]. With our solution, you can purchase directly to the self-custodial vault,” he added, demonstrating that convenience and high-level security can indeed be combined in a single application.
Karnati mentioned that this free single-sig option is also compatible with hardware wallets. For instance, users can utilize the Theya app as an interface for any compatible hardware wallets, including Ledger, Trezor, ColdCard, and Foundation devices.
“They are also enthusiastic about our mission,” said Karnati.
“[Users] can start with multisig, and as their bitcoin holdings increase, they can gradually transition to a hardware wallet and set up cold storage.”
“Some of our users have accounts with Coinbase or Robinhood,” Karnati explained.
“The single-sig mobile wallet is complimentary,” he said, “and you can create as many wallets as you desire.”
Nevertheless, he clarified that incorporating Lightning is not currently on Theya’s immediate agenda.
Thus, he along with his co-founders at Theya have developed a multisig bitcoin vault — a system necessitating multiple signatories for approving a Bitcoin transaction — that users can effortlessly administer through their mobile devices.
To advance its mission of encouraging as many individuals as possible to adopt self-custody, Karnati noted that Theya also offers a free non-custodial wallet option.
Given that Theya’s other two co-founders — Smeet Bhatt and Vikas Choudary — also possess impressive backgrounds and considerable experience in technology, logistics, and finance, it’s clear why Y Combinator showed interest.
What sets Theya apart is its pioneering multisig solution that does not necessitate the use of a hardware wallet — devices that Karnati argues can be daunting for novice bitcoin users.
“Payments is definitely an area we intend to expand into,” Karnati shared. “We aspire to simplify the process for merchants to accept payments and for individuals to provide subscription services.”
“Mobile multisig caters to users who lack a hardware wallet but still wish to engage in self-custody with more than one signature [device],” Karnati elaborated.
“Y Combinator doesn’t typically invest based on the concept,” Karnati remarked. “They invest based on the experience of the founders.”
