UN:BLOCK
Fintech

5 CEOs Behind Latvia's First MiCA Licences

The first companies to hold a MiCA licence in Latvia, on one stage. What the application actually demanded, how long it took, where the regulator pushed back, and what each of them would do differently. The closest thing to a licensing playbook that exists right now.

Can Sun Backpack EU  ·  Alex Novozhenov Nodu  ·  Sławek Zawadzki Kanga Exchange

Where Cross-Border Payments Still Get Stuck

A single currency, a single market, and payments that still stall at the border. Practitioners break down where the delays and costs actually sit, from correspondent relationships to compliance screening and settlement windows, and which alternatives are working in the Baltic corridor today.

Alex Novozhenov Nodu · moderator  ·  Edgars Kokins Bolt  ·  Jegors Zubarevs Paybis

Cheap Money, Expensive Credit: Who Keeps the Spread?

Funding costs have fallen. Borrowing costs mostly haven't. Lenders, alternative financiers and economists take apart what sits between the two, including capital requirements, risk pricing and the level of competition in Baltic lending, and what would have to change for borrowers to feel it.

Funding Real Estate Without the Bank

Crowdfunding platforms, tokenised offerings and private credit are now funding property that banks turned down or priced out. Who is raising, who is investing, what the returns look like a year on, and where the model still breaks, starting with liquidity and exit.

Who Wakes Up Latvia's €9 Billion Dormant Capital?

Billions sit in Latvian current accounts earning nothing while inflation does its work. Banks, platforms and policymakers on why the money stays put, what has been tried before, and what it would actually take to move even a fraction of it into productive investment.

A Fintech Hub in Five Years: The Uncomfortable Checklist

Lithuania built one. Latvia is trying. An honest look at what the job requires, from licensing speed and banking access to talent supply and political patience, including the parts that are hard to say out loud and where Latvia currently stands on each.

What BaaS Providers Actually Look For

Before a sponsor bank takes you on, it assesses your compliance function, your capital, your customer base and your risk appetite. This session covers what gets assessed, what gets you declined, and how to keep the relationship once you have it, including what happens when a provider exits.

Inside the FIU: What We See That You Don't

A rare view from the receiving end of the reporting system. What makes a report useful, what makes one noise, how intelligence moves from submission to case, and what the FIU wishes reporting entities understood before they file.

Financial Literacy: Banks, Platforms, or the State?

Retail investors are entering crypto, crowdfunding and equities with very uneven understanding of what they are buying. A direct argument about who carries the duty to fix that, whether disclosure is doing any work at all, and what would actually change behaviour.

Crypto & Fintech Compliance Specialist Workshop

Practical deep-dive: qualifications, work history, and certifications required for AML officers and MLROs. Who needs to employ one and when? Covers ACAMS, ICA, and national qualification routes.

Licensing in Latvia: MiCA, EMI, PI, Crowdfunding

Step-by-step: how to obtain MiCA, e-Money Institution, Payment Institution, and crowdfunding licenses in Latvia. Representatives from Latvijas Banka and industry associations on site.

Latvia’s €1M Bank Licence: Who It’s Actually For

Latvia now offers a specialised credit institution licence at €1 million of initial capital instead of €5 million — but only for firms that are digital-only, serve a defined customer base, or bring a genuinely new service to the market. What the restricted scope actually permits, how those qualifying criteria get assessed, where it beats an EMI licence, and why the compliance burden does not scale down with the capital.

How to Find Your Next Fintech Talent

Hiring into a market where every licensed firm is chasing the same compliance officers, risk analysts and payments engineers. Where the candidates actually are, what they expect to be paid, how to compete with Vilnius and with remote employers, and what to do when a role has been open for six months.