Alberto Martin

Product person working @lightspark. Chromebook guy. Always trying to learn something new. Ex-Google 2x, Ex-Celo

[Alberto Martin @AlbertoMartinP]

@WillHennessy_ Giving it a spin. Pretty cool tool Will!

[richwidmann.eth @RichJWidmann]

It's official, we're forming the governing body that will guide the future of agentic payments in crypto alongside our friends @linuxfoundation @coinbase @stripe and many others.

Back in September, Google was the first company to launch an agentic payments protocol supporting both traditional payment methods as well as crypto with our Agentic Payments Protocol x402 extension.

Now we'll be continuing those efforts by serving on the governing body responsible for the stewardship of x402 and agentic commerce.

https://t.co/6lkiWg1K6Z

[Alberto Martin @AlbertoMartinP]

Congrats! Pretty neat project

[Rene ◘ @RegenRene]

Not an April Fool's post. Insane proof point for Self (https://t.co/a8KXgSJoxG) technology to be used by Google and Tether in this novel offering!

[Kevin Hurley @kphur]

Proper orchestration and usage of AI is an unlock unlike anything we’ve seen before. I’ve been using a tool I built that 10x’s how quickly I can move as well as gives dramatically higher quality through things like debates between agents. Take a look and see if it helps you! https://t.co/ZjTXAH8YSU

[Josh Woodward @joshwoodward]

I've been at @Google since I was an intern, and there's never been a more exciting time. The place is pulsating.

We're hiring :)

@GeminiApp or @GoogleAIStudio: https://t.co/otVHg9uuqo

@GoogleLabs: https://t.co/e7zA6GJYDe

[Lightspark @lightspark]

Lightspark is now an infrastructure partner in @solana's Developer Platform (SDP).

Solana developers can now access Lightspark Grid — our API for real-time global money movement — directly through the SDP SDK.

BTC buy/sell. Cross-border payments. 65+ countries. One integration.

🔗 https://t.co/jbeppGExUb

[Self @selfxyz]

Big news for builders on @Celo!

The @GoogleCloud Web3 testnet faucet is officially live with Self ZK Proof-of-Humanity for Celo Sepolia.

Prove humanity with Self and:

> Get up to 10x testnet tokens
> Privacy secured via ZK-proofs

Just a ZK to prove that you're human and over 18.

Mainnet coming next.

@gcloudpartners

[Spark @spark]

Neobanks are how crypto goes mainstream.

Mix Bitcoin, stablecoins, and payments and you get something magical. 300k+ users just got Spark access through one of the most proven teams in crypto.

Welcome, @DeblockApp

[Alberto Martin @AlbertoMartinP]

That was our #1 feature request on Google Payments platform a few years back.

[Davi Strazza @davistrazza]

Fun fact: “combo cards" letting users choose between debit or credit, including up to 12 installments, have been available in Brazil since the early 2000s

Consumer choice is the way to go!

[David Marcus @davidmarcus]

The very first stablecoin payment on a @Square terminal! Works with any @spark wallet. Bitcoin is TCP/IP for money. Name one other network that allows using stablecoins to pay in person at up to 4 million merchants. Demo time:

[Lightspark @lightspark]

Catch Amanda Steinback, Product Lead at @lightspark , at @crosstech_ World 2025 as she demos how UMA unlocks real-time, compliant cross-border payments.

See how Lightspark turns slow, expensive settlement into instant, interoperable money movement — live on stage.

📍 Main Plenary
🗓️ Wed, Nov 19
⏰ 1:10–1:30 pm

[David Marcus @davidmarcus]

Weekend quest… Experimenting sending $ from a US bank to @CashApp using UMA + @lightspark Grid. Very little work left to make this fully native within Cash App to enable sending and receiving to/from 65+ countries. Open networks FTW! Hat tip to Cash App team.

[Lightspark @lightspark]

Instant, Bitcoin-powered settlement is now live across the EU & UK.

We’re partnering with @herclegroup to connect deep EUR/GBP liquidity so institutions can move money between Bitcoin and bank accounts in seconds, not days.

Learn more: https://t.co/TQK4Panccg

[Lightspark @lightspark]

A moment of appreciation for the most driven, talented, and mission-focused team in Bitcoin and payments.

The work we’re doing today is shaping the future of open payments.

[David Marcus @davidmarcus]

My new favorite “impress your friend” thing to do on weekends is showing off @SoFi’s new, realtime, ultra-cheap international payment experience. I show 🇺🇸 to 🇲🇽, on a weekend (other banks can’t do it), and the $ magically gets to MX in 2 seconds. Built on invisible Bitcoin.

[Spark @spark]

Spark hit record traffic at 100M+ requests an hour. Our devs are hard at working remedying issues and scaling up.

[Alberto Martin @AlbertoMartinP]

@JakeBlockchain @spark @Joltz_btc @utxofun 👀

[Alberto Martin @AlbertoMartinP]

@nalin @ccatalini Hey @nalin, I agree and I just tipped you 22 sats ⚡️
One more than Felipe, because why not? You can claim them on @bitbit_bot 💰

[Alberto Martin @AlbertoMartinP]

This is one of the best talks I've seen about Open vs Close. Definitely worth a watch.

[Lightspark @lightspark]

At Sync’25, Lightspark’s @ccatalini delivered a masterclass on open networks, a powerful reminder that openness and interoperability are the foundation of the next era of payments.

[Alberto Martin @AlbertoMartinP]

👀

[Crossroads @Dr_Crossroads]

$SOFI

SoFi launched their international remittance product last week to Mexico. So how competitive is that rate, and how does it stack up against Wise and $PYPL's Xoom (to name just 2 of many competitors)?

To send $100 USD to Mexico, here's how the fees stack up:

$SOFI (from the example) - $.80 total fees. 1994 MXN received.

Wise: $1.75 USD fee (exchange rate $1 USD to $18.3865 MXN). Recipient gets 1806.47.

$PYPL's Xoom: No fee (exchange rate $1 USD to 18.81 MXN). Recipient gets 1881 MXN.* (First time rate only; looks like it's a bit more expensive for non-first-timers).

$SOFI LOOKS cheaper, but wait! There's a problem. Either SoFi is giving the most generous exchange rate in the world (of $1 USD to $20 MXN), or this is just a fictional example.

The great thing is that we have a screenshot posted on Reddit of someone using this on Oct 17th. They sent $220 for a total of $1.10, with no network fee. Based on the exchange rate, it looks like SoFi DOES take a fractional cut from the exchange rate, but it's negligible.

If this example holds, $SOFI is cheaper, at least for USD to MXN. We'll need more data to prove that out.

If that's true:

a) They'll gain SIGNIFICANTLY more volume over time as the word gets out.

b) They're probably not making anything from this product. There's a couple of conversion events to and from $BTC, so this isn't a free process, and they have a partnership agreement. That's okay, since $SOFI may be doing this as a service (like free checks) that creates a better product and adds more people to the flywheel.

Good work @anthonynoto and team!