El Salvador Launches Bitcoin Investment Banks: A New Chapter for Digital Assets

El Salvador has taken a decisive step towards becoming a global hub for digital assets by introducing legislation that opens the door for regulated investment banks to invest in and offer crypto services to institutional clients. This move follows El Salvador’s historic adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021. The Investment Banking Law creates a separate regulatory framework for these institutions, allowing them to operate in both legal tender and foreign currencies and even pursue a purely Bitcoin-focused banking approach under the Digital Asset Service Provider (PSAD) license.