The Vancouver-based crypto company will help banks in the region use stablecoins, crypto assets pegged to the value of a central bank-issued currency, to settle Visa payments. The partnership will help banks and merchants settle payments nearly instantly instead of having to wait five to seven days, the companies said. (The Logic)

Talking point: Aquanow has played an important role in Canadian crypto for years, providing the plumbing connecting crypto-trading platforms with global markets. The new partnership with Visa suggests the firm is going global as a behind-the-scenes crypto infrastructure provider. Visa and Mastercard are both experimenting with stablecoins in a bid to stay relevant as the crypto tokens become more popular for everyday transactions. Wealthsimple experimented with making payments in stablecoins with two digital asset trading partners in May, finding they reduced the risk one of the parties would fail to meet its obligations by settling the payments immediately.