ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, the Bitcoin Lightning Network payment platform ZBD (formerly Zebedee) announced that it has received approval from the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) and will be granted a license when the MiCA regulation officially comes into effect on December 30.This license will allow ZBD to provide cryptocurrency custody and trading services throughout the European Union. ZBD submitted its application in April this year and is one of the first companies to be approved.Currently, countries like the Netherlands are prepared for the implementation of MiCA, while other EU member states are still advancing related legislative work. The list of approved companies will be published on the AFM's official website after MiCA comes into effect.

ChainCatcher news, according to Techcrunch, led by Sequoia China (HongShan) and Sequoia India (Peak XV), has jointly invested $10 million in the seed round financing of the stablecoin payment platform KAST.KAST is a bank-like platform based on stablecoins, allowing users to hold and use stablecoins through traditional payment channels, and providing credit card services that can be used within standard merchant networks, enabling users to spend their stablecoin assets at merchants that do not support cryptocurrency payments.The platform was co-founded by Raagulan Pathy, former head of Asia Pacific at Circle, and Daniel Bertoli, former partner at Quona Capital, primarily targeting users in emerging markets, especially offshore workers. KAST reduces cross-border payment costs by bypassing traditional banking networks and is currently not operating in China and India due to regulatory restrictions. DST Global and Goodwater Capital participated in this round.

ChainCatcher news, according to techfundingnews, the Swiss crypto payment platform Brighty has completed a $10 million financing round led by Futurecraft Ventures. The platform was co-founded in 2021 by Nick Denisenko, former Chief Backend Engineer at Revolut, and Roger Buerli, aiming to provide users with a seamless crypto payment experience.Brighty has currently launched a custodial wallet service supporting Ethereum, Tron, Polygon, and Arbitrum, and offers features such as European IBAN accounts and physical and digital VISA cards. The platform provides up to 5% annual yield on stablecoin card balances through DeFi technology. Notably, the platform recently launched an AI-driven crypto investment feature, offering users data-driven investment strategies across multiple sectors, including Momentum, Industrial, Nasdaq, and S&P 500.The company plans to use this round of financing to expand into the European and UK markets, focusing on serving digital nomads and cryptocurrency earners. CEO Roger Buerli stated that the demand for crypto payments in Europe and the UK continues to grow, especially in scenarios such as commercial transactions, financing, and salary payments.

ChainCatcher news, according to official sources, the hybrid payment platform Rise Labs has announced the completion of a $6.3 million Series A funding round, bringing its total funding to $10 million. The investment was led by Draper Associates, with Polymorphic Capital co-leading, and participation from DCG, JAM Fund, Ryze Labs, and Paradigm Shift Capital.It is reported that Rise is a hybrid payment infrastructure that integrates fiat currencies, stablecoins, and cryptocurrencies. Currently, Rise has over 150 clients and more than 100,000 contractors. Its client base includes traditional businesses, Web3 companies, as well as DAOs, protocols, and platforms. Rise's comprehensive platform enables businesses to recruit, hire, and pay global contractors and employees in local currencies and stablecoins, while ensuring compliance with international tax regulations and employment laws.

ChainCatcher news, the Web3 payment platform Transak has registered as a Money Services Business (MSB) with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), and in the United States, it has obtained a Money Transmitter License (MTL) in Delaware.The FINTRAC registration recognizes Transak Canada as an MSB, requiring the company to comply with strict Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Anti-Terrorist Financing (ATF) standards.In the United States, Transak USA LLC has obtained its second state-level MTL, this time in Delaware, after the company received its first license in Alabama in September. The Delaware license allows Transak to offer regulated crypto services to residents and businesses in the state, including the purchase and transfer of digital assets.

ChainCatcher news, blockchain and tokenization infrastructure platform Paxos has launched its new stablecoin payment platform. Stripe's Pay with Crypto product is powered by Paxos' stablecoin payment infrastructure, making it easier for merchants to accept stablecoin payments.Paxos supports instant conversion between USD and PYUSD, USDP, and USDC for received payments, expenditures, and refunds. After receiving stablecoin payments through Paxos, users can choose to either convert immediately to fiat currency and settle in local currencies like USD, or pay the merchant directly with the stablecoin balance.

ChainCatcher news, the open-source payment project UPCX wallet and testnet are officially launched today. You can currently receive URC-20 test tokens on the UPCX faucet "UPCX FAUCET" website. Test tokens can be claimed once every 24 hours, with 5 $UPC each time. Once successfully claimed, you can experience features like transfers within the wallet. Claiming test tokens requires block confirmation, and the confirmation time is only a few seconds.Currently, there is a referral invitation mechanism and a WebX2024 scratch card incentive activity plan for the launch of the UPCX wallet and testnet. You can use the referral code to recommend users to create wallet accounts and receive test token rewards. When the UPCX mainnet goes live, the referral rewards you receive can be exchanged for UPC Tokens at a 1:1 ratio on the mainnet.The official community is hosting an airdrop event of 100,000 UPC for the launch of the UPCX wallet testnet, currently valued at 180,000 USD. You are welcome to participate and experience lightning-fast transactions and ultra-low Gas fees.

ChainCatcher news, Ethereum Name Service (ENS) announced that PayPal and Venmo have integrated ENS into their payment platforms. When sending cryptocurrency on PayPal or Venmo, simply enter the ENS domain name, and the platform will automatically resolve it to the wallet address. This feature will be initially available to users in the United States.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, Web3 payment company Bridge, founded by former Coinbase and Square employees, has completed a $58 million funding round, with participation from Sequoia Capital, Ribbit, Index, and Haun Ventures.Bridge is building a stablecoin-based payment platform that offers services such as cross-border payments and foreign currency exchange. It has already partnered with Bitso to launch stablecoin-based B2B cross-border payments in Latin America.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, Flexa has launched Flexa Components, a tool designed to simplify merchant cryptocurrency payments, enabling what is known as direct, fee-free digital wallet transactions. Flexa states that Components will allow customers to pay for purchases using their preferred crypto wallets. Customers will be able to scan a QR code with their mobile wallet app or click the "Pay" button integrated into the merchant's payment system, similar to existing mobile payments like Google Pay.It is reported that Components supports multiple cryptocurrencies, including USDC, Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and Litecoin (LTC). Flexa has stated that signed retailers include Chipotle, Mikimoto, Regal Cinemas, and 99 Ranch Market.

ChainCatcher news, stablecoin payment platform Sling Money announced the completion of a $15 million Series A funding round, led by Union Square Ventures, with participation from Ribbit Capital and Slow Ventures. This round of funding will help Sling Money advance its mission of global payments. Transfers on Sling Money use Pax Dollar (USDP), a dollar-backed stablecoin issued by Paxos Trust Company. USDP and its reserves are strictly regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services.Sling Money leverages stablecoin technology and a user-friendly interface to enable users to make instant transfers between over 50 countries, with almost zero fees. The company previously raised $5 million in a seed round led by Ribbit Capital.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, the Web3 restaurant application Blackbird has launched a new payment platform called Blackbird Pay.It is reported that the platform is based on Blackbird's newly developed blockchain, Blackbird Flynet, and is a network that provides payment and billing settlement for restaurants. Customers can use Blackbird's reward points, FLY, to pay for their meals, while restaurants using the platform are required to pay a 2% transaction fee for each transaction. The launch of Blackbird Pay aims to change the previously expensive, cumbersome, and technically opaque payment situation, opening new pathways in collaboration with the dining industry.

ChainCatcher news, according to chainwire, the stablecoin payment platform PEXX announced the completion of a $4.5 million seed round financing, led by TNB Aura, with participation from early venture capital firm Antler, Filecoin early supporter EMO Capital, and other venture capital and cryptocurrency investors.It is reported that PEXX's payment platform allows users holding Tether (USDT) and Circle (USDC) stablecoins to transfer their assets directly to bank accounts, helping individuals and businesses conduct cross-border transactions without intermediaries or bank accounts.

ChainCatcher news, Block Inc.'s digital payment platform TBD partners with one of Africa's largest fintech companies, Chipper Cash, to accelerate its global cross-border payments. TBD CEO Mike Brock stated in an interview in Accra, the capital of Ghana, that the partnership announced on Tuesday allows the company's latest business unit (formerly Square) to increase the number of countries in its network across the African continent to 40.

ChainCatcher news, the film payment platform FilmChain based on the Ethereum blockchain announced the completion of a €2.8 million financing round, led by Holt InterXion, with participation from Roca X, DeBa Ventures, TechAngels, and HearstLab. FilmChain leverages blockchain to enhance transaction transparency and auditability, and uses blockchain to track ownership in the payment architecture, injecting trust and accountability into payment transactions in the film, television, and gaming industries.

ChainCatcher news, according to Fortune magazine, the crypto payment platform Meso has completed a $9.5 million seed round financing, led by Solana Ventures and Ribbit Capital, with participation from Canonical Crypto, 6th Man Ventures, and angel investors including Phantom co-founder Chris Kalani, Pinterest CEO Bill Ready, and Archie Puri of Bodhi Labs.It is reported that Meso is dedicated to connecting crypto wallets with bank accounts. Meso co-founder and CEO Ben Mills has previously worked at PayPal, Braintree, and Venmo.

According to ChainCatcher news and the Economic Times of India, the Web3 payment platform Fetcch has completed a $1.5 million Pre-Seed funding round, led by Hashkey Capital and AppWorks Venture, with participation from LD Capital, Compute Ventures, M6, and GravityX Capital. The company plans to use the new funds to focus on product development and expansion in the Web3 space, while also developing Web2.5 use cases.Fetcch primarily provides seamless infrastructure services for digital payment and rewards platforms, mainly targeting the Web3 cross-chain payment ecosystem. It has currently integrated cross-chain solutions such as LayerZero, Axelar, Wormhole, Circle's CCTP, and Chainlink's CCIP.

ChainCatcher news, the Web3 payment platform Helio announced that it will take over the operation of the Solana Pay plugin on Shopify and plans to further enhance the functionality of Solana Pay through new features, thereby improving the digital currency payment experience on Shopify.It is reported that Helio is a Web3 payment platform. Through Helio, merchants, dApps, and creators can securely and conveniently accept decentralized crypto payments on Solana, Ethereum, and Polygon, and receive payments directly from customers.

ChainCatcher news, MetaMask announced on social media that it has partnered with payment platforms in six countries, namely VietQR and Mobile Money in Vietnam, GCash in the Philippines, QRIS in Indonesia, Thai QR in Thailand, Vodafone Cash in Egypt, and Webpay in Chile.MetaMask also stated that its wallet service currently supports local transfers in four countries: Vietnam, Malaysia, Japan, and South Korea. Users in these countries can use the MetaMask mobile app, browser extension, or directly on MetaMask Portfolio.