🔗 We replaced our ledger with two functions

Every transaction at River, a Bitcoin financial institution, now flows through just two core functions: get_balances and record_event. This shift was part of a significant redesign of their ledger system, which originally suffered from complexity and inefficiencies with nearly 40 functions. The new approach employs double-entry event sourcing to maintain accounting accuracy and utilizes a Narrow-Waist API to simplify operations. With this redesign, they achieved a zero-downtime migration during high-volume trading days by carefully managing both ledger systems in tandem. River’s innovative strategy included creating extensive testing scenarios and robust simulation tools, which significantly reduced potential production incidents. This article highlights how a thoughtfully constructed ledger can lead to improved performance and more resilient operations while embracing advances in technology, including AI integration.