LOS ANGELES, July 01, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Today, Lightspark Payments Europe AS announced it received a crypto-asset service provider (CASP) authorization under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), together with authorization to operate as an electronic money institution (EMI), from Estonia’s Financial Supervision Authority (Finantsinspektsioon). With this authorization, Lightspark is the first company in Estonia to receive a standalone MiCA CASP license.
The authorizations enable Lightspark to offer regulated money movement and crypto services on a single platform across new geographies. Starting with cross-border payouts and on/off ramps between dollars and stablecoins, the platform will extend into virtual accounts, card issuance, and stablecoin issuance. Lightspark intends to passport these authorizations across the EU and EEA, bringing the full suite of capabilities to customers throughout Europe.
The authorization is the regulatory foundation for Lightspark’s European roadmap. It anchors Grid Global Accounts, the white-label account that lets a partner give its own users a branded account and Visa card while keeping the economics, rolling out through 2026. With Grid Global Accounts, a platform can give its users a branded account, card, and payments, and keep the economics, in as short as a few weeks as opposed to the years of licensing and compliance it would normally take to build alone.
“Being the first to do this in Estonia, with both an e-money and a MiCA license, means our European customers get one regulated home for payments and crypto. We’re not selling payment rails. We’re helping partners expand internationally without spending years on licensing and compliance in each new market. People and businesses want the most efficient way to move money, not to become captive tenants on yet another closed network,” said David Marcus, CEO and co-founder of Lightspark.
Lightspark’s regulatory authorizations, banking relationships, and card-program certifications each take years to establish and form a foundation that compounds with every market the company enters. At a moment when most independent infrastructure in the category has been absorbed into closed networks, Lightspark intends to remain an open system.
Lightspark Payments Europe AS is led by board members Andres Kalm, Allan Sieger, and Prashanth Balasubramanian.
About Lightspark:
Lightspark is the open infrastructure for moving money worldwide. One integration to send, hold, spend, and convert money in any currency, across 65+ countries. With Global Accounts, any business gives its users a dollar account and keeps the economics of every transaction.
Media contact:
Lightspark: Press@lightspark.com
