SATELIER —
the open treasury atelier
Tagline: Less risk. More sovereignty. Radical transparency.
What it is: A Bitcoin treasury company that operates like a creative studio: we publish the playbook openly, we build the tooling (self‑custody, policies, proofs), and we co‑sign only when clients follow the doctrine. It’s treasury as a craft—opinionated, minimal, and verifiable.
Why it’s new:
- Open‑source by default: the full Treasury Policy Manual, custody diagrams, audit recipes, and content are published free—explicitly inspired by Eric Kim’s long‑standing “open source” blogging ethos.
- Via negativa risk doctrine: we focus first on what not to do (no leverage, no rehypothecation, no opaque yield), then build the smallest safe system that remains.
- Skin‑in‑the‑game structure: partners’ own treasury follows the exact same policy, disclosed publicly every month.
- Proof‑centric trust: every client gets live proof‑of‑reserves/controls dashboards (cryptographic attestations + third‑party audits) instead of glossy PDFs.
The Doctrine (short, opinionated, enforceable)
- Self‑custody first, always multi‑sig. Standard policy: 3‑of‑5 geographically dispersed keys, spending rules and decaying timelocks (Taproot/Miniscript when possible).
- Zero rehypothecation. We do not lend client BTC. No “earn” accounts.
- No leverage. If clients want fiat stability, we hedge exposure (regulated venues), not collateralize treasuries.
- Liquidity ring. One small, insured hot slice for ops; the rest in cold, with time‑locked emergency paths.
- Public proofs. Monthly Merkle‑proof attestations, auditor letters, and policy drift reports—published, not just sent. (Merkle PoR is the minimum standard, with known caveats; we supplement with liabilities disclosure.)
- Open playbook. All how‑tos, checklists, and templates live on the site under an open license—mirroring the “teach everything you know” model Eric Kim popularized in blogging.
Product Stack
1)
TreasuryOS
(SaaS)
A dashboard that verifies, not just visualizes:
- Keys & policy graph: shows your multi‑sig topology, signers, locations, timelocks, and rotation health.
- Attestations: one‑click Proof‑of‑Reserves (Merkle tree) and Proof‑of‑Controls reports; publishes a signed hash to an immutable log.
- Ops ring: Lightning/Liquid balances for day‑to‑day spend; cold storage for reserves. (Liquid gives fast, confidential settlement and access to USDT rails where compliant.)
- Access: passkeys/WebAuthn for admin auth and high‑value approvals—phishing‑resistant by design.
2)
Co‑Sign
(policy‑enforced co‑signature)
We co‑sign as a policy oracle, not a custodian: if the transaction violates your policy (limits, destinations, velocity) we hard‑refuse. Client still controls funds (2‑of‑3 without us), so we avoid full custody exposure. (We’ll tailor jurisdictional treatment; non‑custodial co‑signing can reduce money‑transmitter obligations but still needs legal review.)
3)
LSP for Treasury
(Lightning Service Provider)
If you need BTC payments, we run an LSP that rents inbound/outbound liquidity with SLAs (self‑custody preserved). Treat it as “connectivity,” not yield.
4)
Stable‑Value Over Bitcoin
- Phase 1 (now): integrate USDT on Liquid for USD value while staying in the Bitcoin universe.
- Phase 2 (roll‑out): adopt Taproot Assets on Lightning (stablecoins over LN) where rules permit—multi‑asset on Bitcoin, instant and low‑fee.
5)
TreasureKit
(physical)
Minimalist, “atelier‑grade” kit: 2 hardware signers, 1 air‑gapped laptop image, steel backups, printed runbooks, and a rehearsal protocol for incident response—in line with the tactile, craft‑forward spirit Eric Kim brings to his work.
Architecture (one diagram, four planes)
- Custody plane: Taproot/Miniscript multi‑sig, decaying timelocks, inheritance paths. (Nunchuk‑style coordination for enterprises.)
- Settlement plane: On‑chain BTC (finality), Lightning (instant ops), Liquid (fast BTC & USDT), and Taproot Assets where compliant.
- Identity & auth: FIDO passkeys + WebAuthn for admins and approvers.
- Proofs & audit: Merkle PoR + liabilities attestations, with third‑party auditor APIs; signed hashes publicly posted.
Revenue Model (aligned with safety)
- TreasuryOS seats & attestation runs (SaaS).
- Co‑Sign policy plans (flat retainer; no AUM).
- LSP connectivity (bps + routing fees; never marketed as “yield”).
- Concierge: playbook implementation, key ceremonies, tabletop drills.
- Education & publishing: workshops, open books, and kits—free content fuels trust (Eric Kim’s playbook), paid for hands‑on work.
Compliance stance (built‑in, not bolted‑on)
- Non‑custodial default: clients retain unilateral spending quorum (e.g., 2‑of‑3) without us.
- Attestations ≠ marketing: we disclose PoR’s limits (snapshot issues, off‑chain liabilities). We add continuous proofs and independent audits.
- Stable‑value rails: where Liquid USDT or Taproot‑Assets stablecoins are used, we follow local e‑money/crypto promotion rules and partner with licensed on/off‑ramps.
Brand system (Eric‑Kim‑inspired)
- Voice: direct, generous, unpretentious—teach first. (Eric Kim’s blog model of publishing ideas, manuals, and philosophies openly is the template.)
- Design: black/white UI, big type, no stock photos, minimal nav.
- Publishing cadence:
- Daily: 300–700‑word field notes (“What broke in today’s key rehearsal”).
- Weekly: Open Treasury Log—hashes of proofs, policy changes, incident learnings.
- Quarterly: “Via Negativa Reviews”—what we removed from the product to reduce risk.
Go‑to‑market
- Founders + family offices + creator businesses that already hold BTC but lack formal policy.
- Commerce platforms that want BTC acceptance with self‑custody and proofs (our LSP + POS SDK).
- Public benefit enterprises that value radical transparency—PoR and open manuals as part of their reporting.
0 / 30 / 60 / 90‑day plan
Day 0–7
- Register Public Benefit Corporation or equivalent.
- Publish v0.1 of the Open Treasury Manual and “Via Negativa” doctrine page. (Cite and credit Eric Kim’s open‑source inspiration on the site.)
Day 8–30
- Stand up TreasuryOS alpha: watch‑only wallet aggregation + policy graph + passkey login.
- Run two key ceremonies (internal + design partner) for a 3‑of‑5 Taproot multisig with decaying timelocks; publish redacted diagram.
- Ship PoR v1: basic Merkle attestation with third‑party auditor letter.
Day 31–60
- Launch LSP for Treasury in pilot (inbound liquidity rentals, SLA, no rehypothecation language).
- Integrate Liquid (L‑BTC / USDT) for fast ops flows; publish a compliance memo for target markets.
Day 61–90
- Release Open Proofs Portal: public feed of signed root hashes, liabilities notes, and auditor attest links.
- Publish three open e‑books (Key Ceremonies, Policy Templates, Incident Drills)—free downloads, no email gate (Eric Kim playbook).
- Close five lighthouse clients; run tabletop incident drill with each.
What your clients tangibly get
- A policy‑enforced self‑custody setup they actually understand and can operate.
- Public, verifiable proofs that de‑risk board conversations and investor diligence.
- Optional Bitcoin payments connectivity that doesn’t compromise custody.
- An always‑current manual, written in plain English, because the company is a publisher first.
Competitive edge vs. “BTC funds,” custodians, and TaaS
- Funds are opaque; we’re transparently verifiable. (Proofs + open policy + monthly drift report.)
- Custodians create platform risk; we default to non‑custodial with co‑sign only as an enforcement layer.
- TaaS chases yield; we remove failure modes first (via negativa), then add only essential capabilities.
Name directions (pick one)
- Satelier (Sats + Atelier) — emphasizes craft and minimalism.
- Via Treasury Co. — foregrounds the via negativa doctrine.
- OpenGlass Treasury — signals public proofs and transparency.
Why this channels Eric Kim—concretely
- Open‑source manuals & free books: exactly his “open source” publishing ethos applied to treasury.
- Minimalism by subtraction: quarterly “what we removed” posts mirror his via negativa philosophy.
- Skin in the game: partners’ own BTC treasury, same policy, publicly logged.
If you want, I can turn this into a one‑page pitch, a site outline (hero copy, policies page, proofs portal), and a first‑client key‑ceremony runbook you can run this week.