Hercle and Lightspark Partner to Unlock Money Movement Across the EU & UK in Fiat and Bitcoin

Today we’re thrilled to announce a major leap forward: Lightspark and Hercle are partnering to bring instant Bitcoin-to-Euro and Bitcoin-to-British-Pound settlement to payment service providers, fintechs, e-commerce platforms, and global financial institutions.

By combining Hercle’s deep liquidity and fiat-rail expertise with the real-time, modular infrastructure of Lightspark Grid, we’re making cross-border money movement faster, more seamless and radically simpler. What used to take days and multiple intermediaries now happens in seconds.

What this means 

• Businesses can now move value between Bitcoin and EUR or GBP bank accounts within seconds – unlocking new opportunities for merchant settlement, remittances, cross-border payments and more.
• Hercle becomes Lightspark Grid’s first Euro-liquidity partner, bridging Bitcoin’s Lightning Network with European banking rails and enabling high-volume, global treasury operations and seamless connectivity between Bitcoin and traditional currencies.
• Institutional clients of Hercle gain access to wallet-as-a-service for Lightning Network channels –  no heavy node infrastructure required, direct connectivity enabled.
• Through a single integration via Lightspark Grid, Hercle taps into both Bitcoin-native rails and fiat corridors with one unified API: moving between fiat, Bitcoin or stablecoins in real time.

Why this matters and why now

We believe the way money moves should match the speed, openness and intelligence of the internet. Lightspark Grid serves as the connective tissue between closed systems of the past and the open financial internet  – and this partnership brings that vision closer to reality by combining Lightning infrastructure with deep fiat liquidity and banking connectivity.

“Hercle’s mission is to make real-time, borderless payments the standard for global finance. By partnering with Lightspark, we’re enabling institutions to launch or scale services that move value seamlessly between Bitcoin, Euros and British Pounds, powered by Hercle’s liquidity and Lightspark’s Lightning infrastructure,” said Gabriele Sabbatini, CEO & Co-founder at Hercle. “With a single integration, businesses can now gain Bitcoin’s speed and our fiat rail connectivity, unlocking use cases that weren’t possible before.”

“At Lightspark, we’re building the connective tissue between the world’s financial systems and the Bitcoin network, the only truly decentralized, neutral network. Partnering with Hercle brings us closer to realizing a world where money moves instantly, globally, and without friction. Hercle’s deep liquidity and reach across the EU and UK complement Lightspark’s enterprise-grade infrastructure, unlocking faster, more efficient settlement for businesses and financial institutions alike,” said David Marcus, CEO & Co-founder of Lightspark.

What’s next

Lightspark and Hercle are removing barriers between Bitcoin and traditional finance. This partnership represents a significant step toward a global financial network where money moves instantly across borders and between currencies with the simplicity and security of the internet.

Learn more about Lightspark Grid here: https://grid.lightspark.com/

About Hercle
Hercle is a leading institutional-grade infrastructure platform bridging fiat, stablecoins, and digital assets to enable cross-asset, cross-border transactions at scale and in real time. Serving more than 200 clients, including banks, brokers, payment service providers, corporate treasuries, and fintechs, Hercle provides global institutions with next-generation solutions for cross-border payments, trading, and treasury management. For more information, visit www.hercle.com.

About Lightspark
Lightspark is building open payments for the Internet—modern, always-on payment solutions powered by Bitcoin: the only open, neutral network for moving value. With enterprise tools like Connect, UMA, and Spark, businesses can send and receive money instantly, securely, and at a fraction of the cost, anytime, anywhere. Follow on X @lightspark