U.S. banks pocketed roughly $434 billion in net interest income from depositors in 2025, according to a new piece from River — the bitcoin financial services company.
That works out to around $1,670 per American adult earned by banks using customer deposits to generate profits while paying those same customers close to nothing in return.
The savings trap
With inflation running above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target for six consecutive years, accounts paying less than 0.1% interest are quietly destroying the purchasing power of ordinary Americans’ savings.
River CEO Alex Leishman addressed the broader problem in a recent post, arguing that much of fintech has abandoned its original mission entirely.
Leishman wrote:
“The real way to improve the financial lives of individuals isn’t by turning them into sports betting gurus, or by pushing them to trade thousands of memecoins on a whim.”
His view is that the industry has shifted from helping people build wealth to pushing gambling-like products that leave customers worse off.
Bitcoin as the alternative
River’s response is a product called Bitcoin Interest on Cash, which pays clients 3.3% on their cash holdings, with interest automatically converted and paid out in bitcoin.
The company points out that despite growing awareness, fewer than one-fifth of American adults currently own any bitcoin.
The opportunity ahead
River frames bitcoin’s low ownership rate not as a problem but as an opening — a sign that most of the adoption curve still lies ahead.
Unlike fintech products tied to speculative trading, bitcoin’s value doesn’t depend on any institution’s promises or incentives to hold, according to River.
