Blockstream Reportedly Secures Billions for Crypto Lending Funds
Bitcoin developer Blockstream has reportedly landed a multibillion-dollar investment to launch a trio of funds.
Two of those funds will allow for cryptocurrency lending, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday (March 4), citing sources familiar with the matter.
The report noted that this investment is a sign that there is new appetite for crypto lending after the practice fell out of favor when FTX collapsed in 2022.
The Canadian company had said in January that it wanted to create a fund that underwrites bitcoin-backed loans, and another that enables crypto borrowing using U.S. dollars as collateral. A third fund, the Bloomberg report said, will deploy hedge fund strategies.
The report describes Blockstream CEO Adam Back as a “hardline” bitcoin evangelist who has derided President Donald Trump’s plan to build a strategic crypto reserve, as it would include lesser-known tokens.
PYMNTS has contacted Blockstream, which declined to comment.
Writing on his Truth Social platform over the weekend, Trump announced that the reserve could include bitcoin and ethereum, as well as the XRP, SOL and ADA tokens, all in the goal of making the U.S. “the Crypto Capital of the World.”
As PYMNTS wrote earlier this week, the president’s plan elevates the status of cryptocurrencies while also challenging traditional notions of monetary policy and asset management.
“The announcement of the strategic crypto reserve is the catalyst that the crypto market has been waiting for to kick-start the next leg of the bull rally. What’s clear is that the U.S. President is now the driving force for crypto market movements, and he is certainly playing favorites with crypto tokens,” Chris Chung, founder of Solana-based swap platform Titan, told PYMNTS.
However, that report added, the reserve also raises more questions about the operational realities of things like custody and management than Trump’s announcement answers.
“Would the reserve be used to stabilize crypto markets in the way central banks intervene in forex and bond markets?” PYMNTS wrote. “Could this signal a shift toward a more digital and decentralized financial framework, potentially reducing the Federal Reserve’s control over liquidity and inflation management?”
In a separate report Tuesday, PYMNTS wrote about the potential implications of Trump’s crypto policy on payments ahead of Friday’s (March 7) planned crypto summit at the White House.
“If Friday’s summit leads to clearer regulatory guidelines, payment processors, banks and FinTech companies will be better positioned to integrate digital assets into their offerings, leading to faster and cheaper transactions, cross-border efficiencies and enhanced financial inclusion,” that report said.
“On the flip side, if regulatory ambiguity persists, uncertainty will continue to hamper mainstream adoption. While blockchain technology appears to be here to stay, its integration into U.S. financial infrastructure will largely depend on the policies outlined in the coming weeks.”
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