Blockstream Launches Three Investment Funds

Bitcoin development firm Blockstream announced on Tuesday the launch of three investment funds, including two focused on crypto lending.

Co-founded by legendary Bitcoin developer Adam Back, Blockstream plans to introduce a fund that underwrites Bitcoin-backed loans and another that allows for crypto borrowing with U.S. dollars as collateral. Additionally, a third fund will deploy hedge fund strategies.

According to Bloomberg, the company has secured several billion dollars in funding for these initiatives, citing anonymous sources.

The crypto lending business has faced challenges following the collapse of former crypto exchange FTX, which led to bankruptcies of several reputable crypto lenders due to falsified balance sheets and the inability to repay loans.

The three funds are set to go live in April, with external capital acceptance starting in July. The two lending funds will enable borrowing.

Recently, Blockstream opened a new office in Tokyo, aiming to promote the adoption of Bitcoin Layer-2, self-custody technologies, and the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA) in Japan.