Lightspark

⚡ Introducing the UMA Playground & UMA Test Wallet We’re excited to announce a suite of tools that make exploring the possibilities of Universal Money Addresses easier than ever: UMA Playground A series of interactive demos showcasing the full functionality of UMA Auth: 🧩 Pennywall: See how microtransactions can unlock big potential. 💡 Make Cents: Incentivize actions with lightning-fast payments. UMA Test Wallet A demo wallet app designed for developers and business product teams to explore and interact with UMA seamlessly. Ready to experience the future of global payments? Learn more and dive in: https://lnkd.in/gg2iCVZy

Lightspark CTO & Co-Founder Kevin Hurley is speaking at OPNEXT 2025 this Saturday on Spark — a payments-focused, open-source, Lightning-compatible Bitcoin L2 designed for stablecoins and self-custody wallets. 📅 April 12 | 3:20 PM ET 📍 Tysons, VA

Wharton Cypher Accelerator Demo and Innovation Day is officially underway at The Penn Club of New York! Today, the founders in Cypher’s Altus Cohort present to a room full of financial leaders who are shaping the future of FinTech, AI, and digital assets. Demo Day also includes a powerful lineup of speakers sharing their expert insights, including: • Stu Alderoty, Chief Legal Officer at Ripple • Sahel Assar, Chair, Blockchain and Digital Asset Practice Group at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC • Paul Grewal, Chief Legal Officer at Coinbase • Jai Massari, Co-founder and CLO at Lightspark • Jeremy Schwartz, Global Chief Investment Officer at WisdomTree • Heath Tarbert, President of Circle • And many more! Congratulations to the Cypher Accelerator team, under the leadership of Sarah Hammer, and to the Altus Cohort. View the full agenda here on the Stevens Center for Innovation in Finance website: https://lnkd.in/eV2VCMjC Photography by John Michael Szczepaniak Gillece The Wharton School #WhartonCypher2025 #WhartonFinance #FinTech #FinanceAI #DigitalAssets

⚡ We're building for the long term. The Bitcoin Network offers durability, openness, and a path toward a better way to move value across the world. At Lightspark, we're focused on helping more people and businesses connect to that future. Just ask our our CTO, Kevin Hurley ⚡

💡 Companies shaping the future of payments 💡 At Merge, we are privileged to be at the intersection of all that is changing in global payments and to have the opportunity to interact with exceptional innovators. Recently, I was fortunate to exchange insights with Zach Abrams (Bridge), Jacqueline Reses (Lead), and David Marcus (Lightspark), three remarkable leaders who are shaping the future of payments. There is a paradigm shift taking place in how money moves around the world - led by the confluence of instant payment rails, stablecoin/bitcoin adoption, and underpinned by increased regulatory clarity. At Merge, we are keen to shine a spotlight on companies that are defining the future of this industry. Here’s to those creating the future! ___ Zach Abrams, co-founder of Bridge, is defining how stablecoins infrastructure can be used for applications ranging from dollar banking and cross border payments to treasury and liquidity management for global companies. Stablecoins have the potential to revolutionize cross-border payments by enabling faster, cheaper, and more transparent transactions.  Unlike traditional rails, stablecoins eliminate intermediaries and reduce settlement times from days to seconds. This unlocks immense value for global businesses operating across multiple markets and currencies. It is great to be a partner to the amazing team at Bridge! Jacqueline Reses, co-founder of Lead Bank, has combined a U.S. state-chartered bank license with a best-in-class API platform for money movement—something few banks offer. This enables platform companies to seamlessly collect, hold, and disburse funds programmatically. Lead Bank takes a hands-on approach to understanding each client’s business, helping them drive fintech innovation while navigating complex banking regulations. David Marcus, co-founder of Lightspark, is helping reshape global payments. At Lightspark, he’s driving the development of the Universal Money Address (UMA) protocol—an innovation that leverages Bitcoin and the Lightning Network to enable real-time, interoperable payments across borders. Previously, David led PayPal and Facebook Messenger, and now he's focused on bridging the gap between digital assets and traditional finance. Lightspark is building the infrastructure to move money as seamlessly as information flows online

A busy all-hands to kick off the quarter at our LA offices. Great energy and exciting work ahead. ⚡

Stablecoins are gaining ground fast — especially in Latin America. 🌎 We’re excited to be a sponsor of Stablecoin Conference 2025, happening August 27–28 in Mexico City. It’s all about the next phase of digital money — and Lightspark is proud to be part of the conversation, alongside great partners like the Bitso team. See you there. ⚡ #Stablecoins

On April 4, we’ll gather at The Penn Club of New York for Wharton Cypher Accelerator Demo and Innovation Day – a showcase of ideas pushing the frontier of #FinTech, #DigitalAssets, and #AI.   I’m proud to kick off two important conversations: • A fireside chat with leaders from Ripple and the CFTC on the future of crypto regulation. • A roundtable on how we accelerate the global digital assets ecosystem, featuring voices from Coinbase, Circle, and Lightspark. RSVP to attend Demo Day here: https://lnkd.in/edkYJpJD

What email did for communication, Lightspark is doing for money. Money still moves on infrastructure built in the 1970s — Slow. Expensive. Fragmented. There’s no open protocol for money on the Internet. Yet. At Lightspark, we’re fixing that — building the open payment protocol for the Internet age. ⚡ Fast 🌍 Borderless 🕒 Always-on

Are you passionate about solving complex challenges alongside top-tier fintechs, neobanks, and crypto innovators? Do you thrive on meticulous attention to detail and creating impact through strategic partnerships? If so, I’d love for you to join my team! Let’s build something extraordinary together.