Connect with us

Technology

Lightspark Announces UMA Auth, UMA Request, Updates to Extend and Spark at Lightspark Sync

Published

on

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Yesterday, in Los Angeles, Lightspark hosted its first Partner Summit—Lightspark Sync.

Lightspark announced:

Two new foundational capabilities for UMA – UMA Auth and UMA RequestOne Lightspark product update – Lightspark Extend for UMASpark: A new open-source Bitcoin Layer 2, Lightning-compatible solution for stablecoins and self-custodial wallets

Lightspark is building the fastest global open payment network on Bitcoin. Their products simplify, streamline, and modernize the flow of global payments, whether using fiat currencies, stablecoins, or bitcoin.

Exciting updates for the Universal Money Address (UMA). UMA is an open-source messaging standard built on LNURL. Think of it as email but for money. It’s a solution that enables transactions in fiat currency, stablecoin, or form of value that any human, business, or AI agent needs to move or exchange in real-time.

By the end of 2024, Lightspark estimates their partners will unlock UMA for nearly 300 million customers in 140 countries and 100 currencies.

UMA Auth is like OAuth for money. For businesses, it’s an exciting new extension integrating payments directly into applications and services.

It’s an open standard built on Nostr Wallet Connect that enables UMA-enabled wallets to delegate the push and pull of money with limits set by the user. For businesses, it’s an exciting new extension integrating payments directly into applications and services.

Even in today’s digital economy, payments on commerce platforms, content services, and messaging applications are challenging. Payment integrations can be complicated, taking up valuable development time and resources that can be used elsewhere. High transaction fees can eat into profits, and slow settlement times frustrate users and create risk. International payments add another level of complexity. These problems have been holding businesses back for far too long. UMA Auth solves many of these problems while providing users with easy linking to their existing financial apps and wallets.

At its core, UMA Auth is a two-way connection between platforms and their users’ UMA-enabled wallets.  It takes the great features of OAuth and applies them to the world of UMA payments, making secure authorization easier. Now, users can log in to their wallets and authorize UMA payments using familiar set-up experiences. Users can control what applications can access their wallets, specify permitted actions, and set spending limits for each application.  The potential use cases are far-reaching – UMA Auth enables bank accounts or wallets to be connected to messaging and email apps; for example, users can make payments to content creators (no matter where they are) with live tipping or recurring payments and subscriptions. Like Oauth, UMA Auth does not require platform partners to be in the flow of funds but, instead provides a seamless payment experience for users with the UMA-enabled wallet of their choice.

UMA Auth is built using Nostr Wallet Connect, a secure, open protocol that’s gained significant traction in the Nostr and Lightning communities and simplifies connecting wallets to apps. Lightspark worked with the Nostr community and the team at Alby to build on the protocol, extending Nostr Wallet Connect to support UMA features. Some new key enhancements Lightspark has proposed are cross-currency support and client app registration.

UMA Auth brings a new level of innovation to Lightning, making payments more open, interoperable, and user-friendly. It’s a big step forward in building a payment ecosystem that puts users first and opens up many possibilities for peer-to-peer transactions. Lightspark released SDKs that make it incredibly easy for businesses to integrate UMA Auth into their applications.

UMA Request. Built for UMA, this will allow any business or UMA-enabled wallet to request a payment from another wallet on the network. UMA invoices and payment requests will transform transactions for both businesses and individuals. Merchants or service providers can now quickly request customer payments by creating a one-time invoice for a product or service. This invoice can be paid multiple times, making it incredibly flexible for the business and the end users. One of the standout features of this system is that it provides proof of payment, ensuring that both parties have a clear record of the transaction. UMA Request is versatile enough to handle a variety of use cases. Whether requesting payments from friends for a shared expense, managing merchant checkouts, or handling bills from service providers, UMA Request provides a simple and effective way to facilitate transactions across different scenarios.

Lightspark Extend This is a significant step forward, enabling Lightning payouts to bank accounts over domestic payment rails. It reduces transaction times and costs and simplifies payments. Companies can pay out users at their preferred endpoints with instant, seamless fiat currency transfers from local bank accounts to any eligible account in the user’s chosen currency. In the United States, users can instantly receive USD from a Real-Time Payments-enabled local bank account. Lightspark Extend for the US and Mexico will be available by the end of the year, and Brazil will quickly follow. Lightspark Extend offers competitive pricing and unparalleled efficiency for businesses and individuals to send payments, ensuring that moving funds is faster and more cost-effective than ever.

INTRODUCING SPARK –
A SOLUTION FOR STABLECOINS AND SELF-CUSTODY ON BITCOIN
Lightspark believes the future of payments must be on the most open, neutral, and decentralized network and should also enable all use cases – from non-custodial wallets to stablecoins. Spark is a new, payments-focused, high-performance, open-source, scaleable Bitcoin Layer 2. It extends Bitcoin and Lightning and enables self-custodial wallets to send and receive real-time payments at virtually no cost. Spark also supports tokens such as stablecoins, making it the most comprehensive open payment network built on Bitcoin.

Lightspark is committed to powering a new generation of payment solutions. Their products are built with regulated financial service firms in mind. They offer tools for direct, secure messaging between payment counterparties so that their partners can support a range of customer payment experiences and address risk management, AML/CFT, sanctions, travel rules, and other requirements.

Media Contact
press@lightspark.com

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lightspark-announces-uma-auth-uma-request-updates-to-extend-and-spark-at-lightspark-sync-302287198.html

SOURCE Lightspark

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Technology

HydraForce, Elevāt, and Bosch Rexroth Announce Enhanced Remote OTA Update Capabilities for Off-Highway Equipment

Published

on

By

SEATTLE, July 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Building on their strategic collaboration, HydraForce, a global leader in motion control systems and Elevāt, an industrial IoT and applied AI platform provider, announced a significant advancement in remote machine management.

The HydraForce Connected Control Unit (CCU) from Bosch, integrated with Elevāt software, is now capable of providing remote access and performing over-the-air (OTA) updates on Bosch Rexroth BODAS controllers.

This enhanced capability empowers HydraForce and Elevāt customers to streamline operations, reduce downtime, and significantly improve machine performance and serviceability. By leveraging the integrated solution, OEMs can use the Elevāt platform to remotely diagnose issues and deploy critical software updates to the BODAS controllers on their equipment without requiring on-site service personnel.

“The ability to remotely access and update Bosch Rexroth BODAS controllers using the Elevāt platform takes our collaborative vision of bridging hydraulics, electronics, and digital services to the next level,” said Russ Schneidewind, director of business developmentat at HydraForce.  “The cooperation between Elevāt and Bosch Rexroth is directly addressing the industry’s need for complete, future-ready solutions.”

Adam Livesay, co-founder and CEO of Elevāt, commented, “At Elevāt, we believe the future of equipment service is connected, intelligent, and proactive. This collaboration helps OEMs deliver the next generation of service by  accelerating software deployment and enabling faster issue resolution in the field. The addition of remote BODAS controller updates is another key milestone toward a fully integrated ecosystem that simplifies the connection between hardware, software, and digital services—helping manufacturers bring intelligent equipment to market faster while creating new opportunities for recurring customer value.”

HydraForce and Elevāt plan to further their collaboration with additional remote machine management capabilities to be announced in the future.

About HydraForce HydraForce is a global designer and manufacturer of motion control systems, encompassing hydraulic cartridge valves, manifolds and electronic controls for a variety of off-highway industries, including farming, construction, marine, material handling, mining, and forestry. HydraForce was acquired by Bosch Rexroth, becoming a significant part of the Compact Hydraulics Business Unit. Bosch Rexroth and HydraForce combine their presence in complementary regions to provide comprehensive coverage in Europe and North America, while enabling growth in Asia.

About Bosch Rexroth As one of the world’s leading suppliers of drive and control technologies, Bosch Rexroth ensures efficient, powerful and safe movement in machines and systems of any size. The company bundles global application experience in the market segments of Mobile and Industrial Applications as well as Factory Automation. With its intelligent components, customized system solutions, engineering and services, Bosch Rexroth is creating the necessary environment for fully connected applications. Bosch Rexroth offers its customers hydraulics, electric drive and control technology, gear technology and linear motion and assembly technology, including software and interfaces to the Internet of Things. With locations in over 80 countries, around 31,900 associates generated sales revenue of 6.5 billion euros in 2025.  To learn more, please visit www.boschrexroth.com.

About Bosch Having established a presence in North America in 1906, today the Bosch Group employs around 38,000 associates in more than 100 locations in the North American region (as of Dec. 31, 2024). According to preliminary figures, Bosch generated consolidated sales of $18.7 billion in the U.S., Mexico and Canada in 2025. For more information visit www.bosch.us, www.bosch.mx and www.bosch.ca. The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services. It employs roughly 412,000 associates worldwide (as of December 31, 2025). According to preliminary figures, the company generated sales of 91 billion euros in 2025. Its operations are divided into four business sectors: Mobility, Industrial Technology, Consumer Goods, and Energy and Building Technology. With its business activities, the company aims to use technology to help shape universal trends such as automation, electrification, digitalization, connectivity, and an orientation to sustainability. In this context, Bosch’s broad diversification across regions and industries strengthens its innovativeness and robustness. Bosch uses its proven expertise in sensor technology, software, and services to offer customers cross-domain solutions from a single source. It also applies its expertise in connectivity and artificial intelligence in order to develop and manufacture user-friendly, sustainable products. With technology that is “Invented for life,” Bosch wants to help improve quality of life and conserve natural resources. The Bosch Group comprises Robert Bosch GmbH and its roughly 490 subsidiary and regional companies in over 60 countries. Including sales and service partners, Bosch’s global manufacturing, engineering, and sales network covers nearly every country in the world. Bosch’s innovative strength is key to the company’s further development. At 136 locations across the globe, Bosch employs some 82,000 associates in research and development. The company was set up in Stuttgart in 1886 by Robert Bosch (1861-1942) as “Workshop for Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering.” The special ownership structure of Robert Bosch GmbH guarantees the entrepreneurial freedom of the Bosch Group, making it possible for the company to plan over the long term and to undertake significant upfront investments in the safeguarding of its future. Ninety-four percent of the share capital of Robert Bosch GmbH is held by Robert Bosch Stiftung GmbH, a limited liability company with a charitable purpose. The remaining shares are held by Robert Bosch GmbH and by a company owned by the Bosch family. The majority of voting rights are held by Robert Bosch Industrietreuhand KG. It is entrusted with the task of safeguarding the company’s long-term existence and in particular its financial independence – in line with the mission handed down in the will of the company’s founder, Robert Bosch. Additional information is available online at www.bosch-press.com, www.bosch.com.

About Elevāt Elevāt is a leading industrial IoT and applied AI platform purpose-built for off-highway OEMs. Elevāt enables manufacturers to connect machines, unlock actionable intelligence, and deliver next-generation digital services across the entire equipment lifecycle. Additional information is available online at www.getelevat.com

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hydraforce-elevt-and-bosch-rexroth-announce-enhanced-remote-ota-update-capabilities-for-off-highway-equipment-302833060.html

SOURCE Elevat, Inc

Continue Reading

Technology

FutureSports launches as new index provider transforming sports statistics into tradable financial instruments

Published

on

By

Backed by leading financial and sports institutions, firm will leverage partnerships to bring critical new hedging vehicles to sports ecosystem

CHICAGO, July 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — FutureSports, the new independent index administrator transforming professional and college sports statistics into rules-based, benchmark financial indexes, today announced its emergence from stealth. Backed by a broad range of leading financial and sports institutions, FutureSports in the coming months will announce a series of partnerships, collaborations and products that will bring significant new risk management and trading opportunities to the massive ecosystem supporting the most popular sports.

FutureSports previously raised a seed investment round co-led by Marquee Ventures, spun out of the ownership group of the Chicago Cubs. Major financial industry leaders joined the round, including CME Ventures (the corporate venture capital division of CME Group), Robinhood Markets, Inc., WEDBUSH and DRW Special Investments (an investment arm of DRW). Other investors include Motivate VC, Phoenix Capital Ventures, and John and Linda Henry (Fenway Sports Group).

The company also announced the addition of industry experts to its board of directors, including Chairman Mark Wassersug, longtime Chief Operating & Information Officer of Intercontinental Exchange (ICE); Tim McCourt, Senior Managing Director, Global Head of Equity, FX, and Alternative Products at CME Group, and Erik Hammer, Managing Partner at Marquee Ventures.

The firm will soon unveil its first series of exclusive partnerships with major sports leagues, paving the way for institutional investors and companies in and around the sports industry to manage their risk in an unprecedented fashion and participate in regulated, tradable, broad-based index futures contracts based on team and athlete statistical performance. FutureSports creates rules-based financial indexes, known as FutureSports Performance Indexes (FSPI), that accurately represent the performance of teams and athletes in prominent sports leagues. By utilizing transparent, rules-based methodologies based on officially reported statistical outcomes, the company creates continuous values designed to underpin tradable financial products, such as listed derivatives, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and over-the-counter (OTC) swaps.

Potential market participants will include league broadcasting partners, team and athlete sponsors and endorsers, insurers, stadium owners and operators, private equity investors, lenders, and apparel manufacturers. Asset managers, pension funds and professional trading firms are expected to participate in the contracts and contribute to liquidity in this new uncorrelated asset class. Retail investors will also be able to participate in the first-of-their-kind trading vehicles, which the company expects to capture the interest of sophisticated traders looking for more traditional financial trading instruments

Leigh Taylforth, FutureSports Co-Founder, said: “The global sporting industry generates $650 billion a year, yet there has been no liquid, robust opportunity to hedge the extensive and varied industry risks that range from weather events, to injuries, to unanticipated behavior issues and more. That is about to change. We’ve been truly gratified to see the interest our business has generated within the sports and sports-adjacent industries and the quality of investors we have attracted already.”

Rhett Dinsdale, FutureSports Co-Founder, said: “Up until today, we have been operating in stealth mode while developing our products and establishing key relationships that we expect to be fundamental to our success as we move forward. The recent rise in popularity of prediction markets has only reinforced the concept we created several years ago, that sports as an asset class has huge utility within the sports and entertainment industries, with indexes serving as key institutional instruments to manage risk. What is sorely needed is the type of reliable data and financial instruments that institutional investors have leveraged for so long within the regulated derivatives industry, and we’re excited to bring these to market.”

The Executive team includes Co-Founders Taylforth and Dinsdale, who each have more than 20 years of experience in derivatives trading for market makers, investment banks and hedge funds, along with:

Dave Abbott, Chief Technology Officer – formerly Managing Director at Sportradar;Steve Byrd, Head of Partnerships – formerly Chief Operating Officer (COO) at STATS LLC & Chief Commercial Officer at Sportradar US;Jodie Gunzberg, Head of Index Services – formerly Managing Director at S&P Dow Jones Indices, Morgan Stanley & CoinDesk;Tom Jenkins, Head of Business Development – formerly Head of Index Partnerships & Strategy at FTSE Russell;Josh Kravitt, Head of Operations – formerly Director at CME Ventures;Sunny Modi, Head of Product – formerly Head of BI at Ardent Leisure Group;Mike Philipp, Chief Legal & Strategy Officer – formerly partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP;Charlie Thornton, Chief Regulatory Affairs Officer – formerly Chief of Staff and COO at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

About FutureSports

Under development since 2022 and launched in 2026, Chicago-based FutureSports has created a proprietary index methodology for measuring on-field, on-ice and on-court performance for a range of professional sporting teams and athletes. Partnering with many of the most recognizable sports leagues and financial market participants, FutureSports transforms live, play-by-play statistical data into rules-based, benchmark indexes that may be referenced by exchange-listed financial products. The indexes are designed to serve the same benchmarking function as the leading equity, commodity and fixed income indexes utilized every day across major global exchanges to track performance and hedge risk in the financial markets. For more information, visit www.futuresports.com.

 

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/futuresports-launches-as-new-index-provider-transforming-sports-statistics-into-tradable-financial-instruments-302832829.html

SOURCE FutureSports

Continue Reading

Technology

Capital Group Canada Launches Three Active Equity ETFs on TSX

Published

on

By

The ETF suite now includes five active equity ETFs and two active fixed income ETFs designed to sit at the core of investment portfolios

TORONTO, July 23, 2026 /CNW/ — Capital International Asset Management (Canada), Inc. (“Capital Group Canada”) has launched three new active exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that begin trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) today. The three equity strategies are designed to give options for investors looking to diversify their portfolios with non-domestic exposures including U.S., international and developed market securities.  

The new active ETFs are:

CAPU – Capital Group U.S. Equity Select ETF (Canada): Seeks long-term growth of capital and income through investments primarily in common stocks of U.S. issuers.CAPN – Capital Group International Developed Equity Select ETF (Canada): Seeks to provide prudent growth of capital through investments primarily in equity securities of issuers in developed markets outside North America. CAPQ – Capital Group Global Developed Equity Select ETF (Canada): Seeks to provide prudent growth of capital through investments primarily in equity securities of issuers in developed markets.

“As demand for ETFs continues to grow, our expanded lineup gives investors more ways to access Capital Group’s distinctive active investment approach, including our deep research capabilities and multiple portfolio manager system,” said Rick Headrick, president of Capital Group Canada. “As one of the world’s largest active investment managers with over 90 years of experience, we are able to share the benefits of our global scale and offer competitively priced active ETFs designed to sit at the core of an investor’s portfolio.”

“Clients tell us they are looking beyond borders for opportunities to build diversified portfolios,” said Angela Shim, head of product and development at Capital Group Canada. “The three equity strategies expand Capital Group Canada’s core offerings in U.S., international, and global equities, giving investors flexible solutions that can help them navigate global markets and stay focused on their long-term investment goals.”

The three ETFs closed their initial offering of units on July 22, 2026.

The additions expand Capital Group Canada’s ETF lineup to seven, building on a prior launch of two equity and two fixed income ETFs. Details of Capital Group Canada’s full suite of active ETFs can be found here.

About Capital Group

Capital International Asset Management (Canada), Inc. is part of Capital Group, a global investment management firm originating in Los Angeles, California. As Capital Group approaches its 100th anniversary in 2031, its long-term strategy remains firmly rooted in its mission to improve people’s lives through successful investing. With over 9,000 associates and 34 offices around the world, Capital Group manages US$3.6 trillion in assets for millions of wealth management and institutional clients around the world*.

*As of June 30, 2026.

For more information, visit: www.capitalgroup.com/ca/en

SOURCE Capital Group Canada

Continue Reading

Trending