Latham & Watkins Advises Lightspark in its Acquisition of Striga

Latham & Watkins LLP has advised Lightspark, a technology company building the next generation of global, real-time, open payments on the Bitcoin network, in its acquisition of Striga, an embedded finance and digital asset infrastructure platform with a robust regulatory footprint in Europe.

Lightspark develops modern, always-on payment solutions enabling businesses and financial institutions to move money instantly, transparently, and across borders — all through a single, open protocol. The company partners with leading banks, fintechs, and digital asset platforms to deliver interoperable, compliant payment experiences at scale.

Striga operates under a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license that covers 30 countries within the European Economic Area (EEA). Its deep regulatory expertise, licensing framework, and financial services stack — including direct integrations with fiat providers, card networks, and banking partners — strengthen Lightspark’s position as a leader in compliant, cross-border payment infrastructure.

The Latham team was led by London partners Stuart Davis and Shing Lo, with Boston counsel Andy Moosmann and associates Kelsey Kitchens and Sarah Weiswasser. Advice was also provided on US IP and data privacy matters by Boston associate Debbie Hinck; on employee benefits matters by Boston partner Josh Friedman, with associate Rebecca Fishbein; on European antitrust matters by London partner Stephanie Adams, with associate Josephine Levy; on U.S. regulatory matters by Washington D.C. counsel Catherine Hein, with associate Christine Kalpin; and on tax matters by Chicago partner Enrique Rene de Vera.
 
Walles was Estonian counsel to Lightspark.