The first MiCA license in Estonia, and the foundation for open payments in Europe

We are excited to announce that Estonia's Financial Supervision Authority has granted Lightspark Payments Europe AS a crypto-asset service provider license under the EU's MiCA regulation, plus authorization to operate as an electronic money institution. This makes Lightspark the first company in Estonia to receive a standalone MiCA CASP license, and together, creates a new foundation for Lightspark.

Two licenses that change the game. Plenty of companies hold a crypto license. Others hold a payments or e-money license. Very few hold both. Together, these licenses let us offer regulated money movement and crypto in one place: starting with cross-border payouts and on/off ramps between dollars and stablecoins, and growing into virtual accounts, card issuance, and stablecoin issuance. One regulated provider, not a patchwork of vendors stitched across borders.

Built to scale across Europe. These authorizations are based in Estonia, but they aren't staying there. We intend to passport them across the EU and EEA so customers everywhere in Europe can reach the same capabilities under one framework.

We're not selling rails. The licenses underpin Grid Global Accounts, the white-label account that lets a platform give its own users a branded account and Visa card, and keep the economics. That's the real shift: we help customers become financial platforms, not just move money for them.

Harder to replicate, by design. Licenses, banking relationships, and card certifications take years and don't compress. Every market we add is one more thing anyone starting from scratch would have to reproduce. Most credible independents in this category have been absorbed into a larger network. We're now licensed in our own right, and remain independent.

Just the beginning. The licenses are the foundation, not the finish line. The European roadmap rolls out over the coming months. Combined with our US and international footprint, it puts Lightspark in position to be a single home for moving and holding money across markets.

There's real work ahead. But these licenses give us the kind of foundation that's a cause for celebration. Onward.