The President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele has vowed to keep on accumulating bitcoin (BTC) despite growing pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to stop investing in the cryptocurrency.

Blockstream, the Bitcoin development firm co-founded by BTC developer Adam Back, is set to launch three new investment firms, with two of these focused on cryptocurrency lending. 

SBI VC Trade, a subsidiary of Japanese financial behemoth SBI Holdings, has secured regulatory approval as an Electronic Payments Provider in Japan from the country’s Financial Services Agency.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

El Salvador’s Bukele Vows to Keep Accumulating Bitcoin

The President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele has vowed to keep on accumulating bitcoin (BTC) despite growing pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to stop investing in the cryptocurrency.

In a post on social media, Bukele said that the accumulation is “not stopping,” in a post that came shortly after the IMF published more details about its $3.5 billion deal with El Salvador, claiming that as part of the loan it was prohibiting the “voluntary accumulation of bitcoin by the public sector.”

“If it didn’t stop when the world ostracized us and most “bitcoiners” abandoned us, it won’t stop now, and it won’t stop in the future,” Bukele said.  His words came shortly after El Salvador disclosed the purchase of 19 BTC over the previous week.

The country currently holds 6,101.15 BTC worth around $530 million.

Blockstream to Launch Three New Investment Funds

Blockstream, the Bitcoin development firm co-founded by BTC developer Adam Back, is set to launch three new investment firms, with two of these focused on cryptocurrency lending. 

The firm is planning on launching a fund focused on underwriting bitcoin-backed loans, another that facilitates crypto borrowing with U.S. dollars as collateral, and a third fund that will employ hedge fund strategies.

The launch is coming after the firm reportedly secured several billion dollars in funding to launch the new products. The funds are set to go live in April with additional external capital being accepted from July onward. 

SBI Secures License to Bring USDC to Japanese Market

SBI VC  Trade, a subsidiary of Japanese financial behemoth SBI Holdings, has secured regulatory approval as an Electronic Payments Provider in Japan from the country’s Financial Services Agency.

The new license allows it to offer foreign stablecoins in the country, making it the first in the country to list and distribute Circle’s USDC. The listing comes after regulatory changes in the country in 2023 eased, allowing for licensed intermediaries to handle foreign stablecoins.