Mastercard Launches “Crypto Credential” To Replace Wallet Addresses

Hi NoRamp Community,

Daily News:

1) PYUSD Now Available On Solana Blockchain

2) Mastercard Launches “Crypto Credential” To Replace Wallet Addresses

3) Citi-Backed Crypto Unicorn Talos Acquires DeFi Platform Skolem

4) Fintech Adds Consignment-Selling Tech With Nexxus Group Acquisition

5) Solutions By Text Lands $110M in Growth Financing

 PYUSD Now Available On Solana Blockchain:

• At Consensus 2024, PayPal Holdings, Inc. announced that PayPal USD (PYUSD) is now available on the Solana blockchain, making PayPal's stablecoin faster and cheaper to use. The availability of PYUSD on Solana provides users with increased flexibility and control by offering multiple blockchain options.

• The Solana blockchain is known for processing a high volume of transactions quickly and at low costs, making it ideal for commerce use cases. Solana is the leading blockchain for stablecoin transfers, enhancing the usability of PYUSD for payments. Jose Fernandez da Ponte, Senior Vice President at PayPal, highlighted that PYUSD aims to revolutionize commerce by providing a fast, easy, and inexpensive payment method.

• PayPal and Venmo wallets display PYUSD as a unified balance, allowing users to choose between sending PYUSD on Ethereum or Solana. PYUSD can also be purchased on platforms like Crypto.com, Phantom, and Paxos. Issued by Paxos Trust Company, PYUSD is fully backed by U.S. dollar deposits, U.S. Treasuries, and similar cash equivalents, maintaining a stable value for commerce and payments.

Mastercard Launches Crypto Credential To Replace Wallet Addresses:

• Mastercard's new "Crypto Credential" service has launched, simplifying peer-to-peer crypto transfers by allowing users to send and receive digital assets using a user-friendly alias instead of complex blockchain addresses. This service, available on select crypto exchanges, enhances security, transparency, and accessibility.

• The service verifies users through Mastercard's standards and provides them with an alias. When sending crypto, the program ensures the recipient's network address supports the transaction's associated token and blockchain. Transactions won't proceed if the recipient's address is incompatible, preventing user mistakes and protecting against address poisoning scams.

• Currently available on exchanges like Bit2Me, Lirium, and Mercado Bitcoin, the service will expand to countries including Brazil, Chile, France, and more. Mastercard plans to extend the service to support NFTs, ticketing, and other payment solutions. This initiative is part of Mastercard's broader foray into crypto, which includes testing distributed ledger technology for settling digital asset transfers among major banks.

  

  Source: The Block

Citi-Backed Crypto Unicorn Talos Acquires DeFi Platform Skolem:

• Talos, a crypto trading software provider backed by Citibank and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), acquired Skolem, a DeFi-access platform. The deal's size and terms were undisclosed. Talos stated that Skolem would enhance its on-chain capabilities and connect institutional clients to additional DeFi services, including liquidity pools and portfolio management services.

• Founded in 2020, Skolem provides institutional investors with access to DeFi markets, including trading, staking, lending, and liquidity provisioning on DeFi protocols. The Skolem platform will be fully integrated into Talos, expanding Talos's offerings for its clients to diversify investment strategies.

• This acquisition marks Talos' third deal, following its recent acquisition of Cloudwall and last year's acquisition of D3X Systems. Talos continues to explore further deals to enhance its services. Valued at $1.25 billion in 2022, Talos is backed by investors like Wells Fargo Strategic Capital, BNY Mellon, PayPal Ventures, Castle Island Ventures, and Fidelity Investments.

Fintech Adds Consignment-Selling With Nexxus Group Acquisition:

• Financial Information Technologies (Fintech) acquired Nexxus Group to expand its B2B payment capabilities. Nexxus Group's consignment-selling technology will be integrated into Fintech’s business solutions for the hospitality and retail industries, enhancing invoice payment processing and consignment selling.

• Nexxus Group’s technology facilitates scan-based trading and consignment selling between retail stores and their vendors. As part of Fintech's platform, this technology allows retailers to reduce inventory and enables vendors to control inventory until purchased by consumers. Upon sale, vendors submit invoices to Fintech for payment processing.

• This acquisition adds to Fintech's portfolio, used by over 240,000 establishments and 5,000 vendors, facilitating over 1.1 million B2B connections. Nexxus Group's CEO, Mark Landgren, highlighted the synergy with Fintech’s recent acquisition of iControl, a provider of technology solutions for alcohol payments and scan-based trading. This combination aims to accelerate growth and reinforce Fintech as a leader in B2B payments.

Solutions By Text Lands $110M in Growth Financing:

• Solutions by Text (SBT), a provider of embedded payments solutions via a compliant-first messaging platform, has secured $110 million in growth financing. The funding round was co-led by StepStone Group and Edison Partners, with additional lending support from Stifel Venture Bank.

• Founded in 2008 and based in Dallas, SBT claims to be the world's first "FinText" firm, offering a platform that combines messaging and real-time embedded payments for the consumer finance sector. The platform enables financial services firms to engage, interact, and transact with consumers in real-time, allowing customers to make payments via text.

• The investment comes after a successful 2023 for SBT, during which its messaging volume increased by 95%. CEO David Baxter highlighted the consumer demand for alternatives to traditional engagement methods like emails and call centers. SBT plans to use the new funds to enhance its AI and payments capabilities and explore inorganic growth opportunities.

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