Originally published at: Biz Journals

A bitcoin startup in Worthington aims to make headlines this year, but much different in nature than those you’ve seen lately concerning cryptocurrency.

Synota Inc. launched out of stealth mode in October with a $3 million seed round led by Ego Death Capital, which focuses on Bitcoin tech.

Founded by siblings with engineering and regulatory experience in the energy industry, the startup uses Bitcoin’s Lightning Network to eliminate months of lag time between utilities paying their suppliers and getting paid by customers.

The four-person Worthington startup plans to launch its commercial product this year, said co-founder and CEO Austin Mitchell. Its first customers are “miners” of bitcoin, who consume power to run the computing algorithms that generate the currency. It’s working toward broader use by utilities next year.

“We’re going to be commercializing through all of 2023,” said Chief Administrative Officer Lisa Scott.

Removing payment delays and resulting borrowing and administrative costs could lower utility bills, Mitchell said in a recent talk at Rev1 Ventures, another seed investor. It also can increase access to renewable energy in emerging economies where households lack even basic refrigeration and cookstove power today.

Also this year, Synota will work with infrastructure partners in Nigeria and Cameroon for a demonstration project to build more power plants with bitcoin miners as the first customers. That solves a Catch-22: Today investors won’t back building power plants because there’s not enough revenue if households lack appliances, which they can’t buy because there’s no power.

Mitchell has a doctorate in engineering and energy policy, and worked in forecasting and risk management for energy companies. Scott, his sister, is both an attorney and CPA, and was a tax specialist for a utility infrastructure company.

Deep knowledge of the industry and its regulatory complexities already is “paying dividends,” said Ryan Helon, Rev1’s executive vice president for investment funds. The pair identified an acute pain point, and their solution using bitcoin is “where a lot of investors see the puck going.”

The collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX and federal prosecution of its founder can cause increased skepticism and regulatory hurdles, Mitchell said, but removing alleged fraud at the same time is “cleansing.”

Synota is not an exchange, but a “payment rail” much like a credit card, Scott said. Customers can pay in dollars, and because its transactions take place in seconds, fluctuations in bitcoin exchange rates won’t affect it.