Leaders of the crypto and fintech industry groups in Russia and Iran have held talks on using tokens to evade sanctions and facilitate trade. The discussions took place at the International Exhibition of Financial Industries in Tehran, where a panel featuring Iranian government officials and the Executive Director of the Russian Association of the Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Industry was held.

Financial institutions are beginning to take notice of the metaverse, a blockchain-fueled virtual world that offers new social experiences through virtual and augmented reality. With a young, tech-savvy user base, metaverse applications provide banks with unique opportunities to build relationships with a growing consumer base that has embraced fintech.

Stripe remains the most valuable privately held fintech company despite a 47% decline in valuation, while Klarna suffered an 85% valuation drop and fell off the top 10 list entirely. The lack of new companies with huge funding rounds resulted in a lower turnover on the list this year.

Venture firm QED has raised $925 million for two new funds, one for early stage and one for early growth-stage fintech investing. QED has previously backed companies such as Credit Karma, Klarna, Nubank, and Remitly, and will continue to invest globally in categories including payments, lending, and crypto. The firm was founded in 2007 and is based in Alexandria, Virginia.  

Latin American financial technology firm R2 secured a $100 million credit line from San Francisco-based Community Investment Management, to boost lending in Mexico, its largest market.

Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is considering allowing licensed digital exchanges to list tokens backed by assets like equity, debt, or property. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ether will not be among those assets, according to SEC head of securities and investment Abdulkadir Abbas. The SEC aims to register fintech firms as digital sub-brokers, crowdfunding intermediaries, fund managers, and tokenized coins issuers, but crypto exchanges will not be registered until the central bank provides clear regulations for the market.

A smart contract is a self-executing contract that is programmed to automatically execute certain actions when predetermined conditions are met. Smart contracts are typically implemented on blockchain technology, which allows for a distributed and transparent ledger of all transactions and actions taken by the contract.

One of the European Union’s most successful mobile-payment companies is starting its international expansion with an ambitious goal to revolutionize cardless transactions across the bloc.  

Comprehensive API-enabled custodial and transfer agent services designed for alternative assets enable enterprises to build compliantly in highly regulated industry.