A Russian finance ministry official has reportedly said the country should be developing its own stablecoin after a recent freeze on wallets linked to the sanctioned Russian exchange Garantex by US authorities and stablecoin issuer Tether. 

Deputy director of Russia’s Finance Ministry’s financial policy department, Osman Kabaloev, said the Kremlin should be exploring the possibility of developing a stablecoin like Tether’s (USDT) to avoid similar actions in the future, according to April 16 reports by Reuters and the state-owned news agency TASS.

“We do not impose restrictions on the use of stablecoins within the experimental legal regime. Recent developments have shown that this instrument can pose risks for us,” Kabaloev told TASS.

“This leads us to consider the need to develop internal instruments akin to USDT, potentially pegged to other currencies.”

On March 6, the US Department of Justice collaborated with authorities in Germany and Finland to freeze domains associated with Garantex, which authorities claimed processed over $96 billion worth of criminal proceeds since launching in 2019.

Stablecoin operator Tether also froze $27 million worth of its stablecoin on March 6, forcing Garantex to halt all operations, including withdrawals.

The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control first hit Garantex with sanctions in April 2022 over alleged money laundering violations.

Garantex has allegedly resurfaced under a new name after reportedly laundering millions in ruble-backed stablecoins and transferring them to a newly established exchange, a Swiss blockchain analytics firm has claimed.

Russia already making crypto moves 

Meanwhile, Evgeny Masharov, a member of the Russian Civic Chamber, proposed on March 20 to create a Russian government crypto fund that would include assets confiscated from criminal proceedings.

Related: $1T stablecoin supply could drive next crypto rally — CoinFund’s Pakman

At the same time, other officials were progressing with new legislation on recognizing crypto as property for the purposes of criminal procedure legislation.

The whole stablecoin market capitalization has grown since mid-2023, surpassing $200 billion in early 2025. A joint report from onchain analysis platforms Artemis and Dune, meanwhile, showed that active stablecoin wallets increased by over 50% in one year. 

Stablecoins also saw massive adoption in 2024, driven by the increased use of bots, with total stablecoin volumes reaching $27.6 trillion, surpassing the combined volumes of Visa and Mastercard by 7.7%. 

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Brazilian fintech firm Meliuz has floated a plan to expand its Bitcoin holdings and make the cryptocurrency a strategic asset on the company’s books.

Meliuz, which provides cashback and financial technology services, is taking the plan to make Bitcoin (BTC) the primary strategic asset in the firm’s treasury to shareholders in a meeting slated for May 6, according to a translated April 14 statement.

The company said its core business will remain unchanged, but “the generation of cash from operations is fundamental to the strategy of acquiring more Bitcoin over time.” 

If shareholders approve the measure, Bitcoin will be adopted as the firm’s main strategic treasury asset, but it will also look to foster “the incremental generation of Bitcoin for its shareholders, whether through the generation of operating cash or through possible financial transactions and strategic initiatives.” 

Shareholders who disagree with the new direction and held their shares before April 14 can request reimbursement. 

Meliuz shares jump on Bitcoin plan

In the trading session after its new Bitcoin plan was announced, Meliuz (CASH3) jumped over 14% from 3.28 Brazilian reals ($0.56) to 3.76 Brazilian reals ($0.64) on the Brazilian Stock Exchange, according to Google Finance.

In total, Meliuz’s share price has spiked up over 27% in the last five days to 3.85 Brazilian reals ($0.65).

Meliuz purchased Bitcoin for the first time in March after its board of directors approved using up to 10% of the company’s cash for Bitcoin, purchasing 45 BTC for about $4.1 million.

Related: Corporate Bitcoin treasuries drop more than $4B on US tariff hike impact

The amount of Bitcoin held on the books of publicly traded companies rose by 16.1% in the first quarter of 2025, according to Bitwise. Public companies bought around 95,431 Bitcoin over the quarter, increasing the total holdings across all company’s balance sheets to around 688,000. 

Meliuz was among 12 firms that added Bitcoin to their balance sheets for the first time in Q1 20025, joining the likes of video-sharing platform Rumble.

Michael Saylor’s digital asset firm, Strategy, has also continued its long-term strategy of acquiring more Bitcoin with its most recent April 14 purchase consisting of 3,459 Bitcoin bought for $285.5 million. 

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Fresh from successfully convincing game retailer GameStop to add Bitcoin to its balance sheet, Strive Asset Management CEO Matt Cole has now set his sights on fintech firm Intuit to do the same.

Cole said in an April 14 open letter to Intuit CEO Sasan Goodarzi that Intuit’s growth is admirable, but Bitcoin (BTC) is the best way to ensure the company’s long-term success and hedge against any potential disruption caused by artificial intelligence.

Intuit’s flagship products are its tax preparation app TurboTax and the small business accounting software Quickbooks. The company laid off 10% of its staff in July to pursue its AI endeavors, but Cole said the firm needs an additional hedge because TurboTax is at risk of being automated away by AI. 

“While we appreciate Intuit’s own investments and internal implementation of AI, we believe an additional hedge is warranted, and that a Bitcoin war chest is the best option available,” Cole said. 

That Bitcoin war chest, he added, will ensure Intuit has “enough strategic capital to weather the AI storm and act from a position of strength through the turbulence of the AI revolution.” 

Cole sent a similar letter to GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen in February to advise the gaming retailer to use its $4.6 billion in cash to buy Bitcoin. 

GameStop’s Cohen acknowledged the letter in an April 1 regulatory filing and revealed his company had finished a convertible debt offering that raised $1.5 billion, with some proceeds earmarked for buying Bitcoin.

Strive urges Intuit change crypto policy

In his letter to Intuit, Cole said the firm should reconsider the acceptable use policy for its marketing platform Mailchimp, which he claims has continued to suspend crypto-related accounts over policy violations.

Cole said he “remains concerned that Intuit’s censorship and de-platforming policies discriminate against Bitcoin enthusiasts, which may harm long-term shareholder value.”

Mailchimp has said that crypto-related content isn’t necessarily banned under its policy, and crypto content can be sent provided the sender isn’t involved in the sale, exchange, or marketing of crypto. 

Related: Saylor signals Strategy is buying the dip amid macroeconomic turmoil

Its current acceptable use policy states that the platform might not allow accounts that offer “cryptocurrencies, virtual currencies, and any digital assets related to an initial coin offering.” 

According to Cole, Mailchimp likely adopted its policies when the legal status of crypto and related businesses was uncertain, but said with the crypto-friendly Trump administration, it’s time to “amend the acceptable use policy to end the blanket ban on crypto-related businesses.”

Intuit did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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