Funding to Accelerate COCA’s Growth and Deepen Integration with the Stellar Ecosystem

HONG KONG, March 19, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — COCA.xyz, the next-generation non-custodial payments app, has successfully completed a strategic funding round led by the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF), with participation from FunFair Ventures. This investment will accelerate COCA’s mission to make stablecoin payments seamless, secure, and accessible to a global audience, bridging the gap between traditional finance and blockchain-powered transactions.

With over 1 million users since its launch a year ago, COCA wallet is proving that stablecoins are a game-changer for payments. Unlike traditional wallets that are complex and difficult to use, COCA is built for mass-market adoption, removing barriers such as private key risks, expensive fees, and limited merchant acceptance. By integrating with the Stellar network, COCA users can pay with stablecoins at over 80 million merchants across 200+ countries using COCA’s non-custodial Visa debit cards and IBANs.

“This investment is not just financial; it’s a strategic milestone,” said Pavel Matveev, Product Advisor at COCA. “COCA and Stellar Development Foundation share the same vision—making everyday financial services accessible. Leveraging stablecoins to make payments increases accessibility for people around the globe.. With Stellar’s support, we will scale faster, enhance our platform, and deepen our integration with the Stellar ecosystem, including MoneyGram for global remittances, first-class support for Soroban smart contracts, and partnerships with other Stellar-based projects.”

“Stablecoins are powering payments and driving adoption of blockchain technology and opening up economic opportunities for hundreds of millions of people across the world,” said Denelle Dixon, CEO & Executive Director of the Stellar Development Foundation. “COCA’s approach will power the growth of stablecoin payments because of their user-friendly, non-custodial approach. The Stellar Development Foundation is proud to support COCA.”

COCA: A Next-Generation Payment app for Stablecoins

Stablecoins are transforming digital payments, but using them in everyday transactions can still be a challenge. COCA is changing that with a powerful, user-friendly platform designed to make stablecoin payments seamless, secure, and widely accessible.

Here’s how COCA is redefining the way people use stablecoins:

• Seamless Stablecoin Payments – Use stablecoins for everyday spending via COCA’s non-custodial debit cards & IBANs, eliminating the need for intermediaries.
• Deep Stellar Integration – Expanding support for MoneyGram’s global remittance services, Soroban smart contracts, and partnerships with Stellar-based projects.
• MPC Security & Anonymous Biometric Backup – Eliminating private key vulnerabilities while ensuring seamless and secure wallet access.
• Universal Gas Token (UGT) – A game-changer that allows users to cover gas fees across multiple chains, reducing friction in crypto transactions.
• Zero-Fee Swaps & Cross-Chain Transactions – Making stablecoin transfers more cost-effective and accessible to everyone.
• Cashback in crypto – Users earn cashback in crypto on every transaction.

With this funding, COCA is set to accelerate its growth, expand its ecosystem, and drive mass adoption of stablecoin payments—empowering users to transact globally with unparalleled ease and security.

About COCA

COCA is a next-generation, non-custodial payment app that makes stablecoin transactions seamless. By integrating MPC security, gas-free transactions, and embedded banking features, COCA enables users to buy, swap, and spend stablecoins and digital assets effortlessly anywhere in the world.

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For more information, visit www.coca.xyz.

About Stellar Enterprise Fund

SDF’s Enterprise Fund is a venture-style fund for growing the open-source Stellar network globally.

About Stellar

Stellar is a decentralized, fast, scalable, and uniquely sustainable network for financial products and services. It is both a cross-currency transaction system and a platform for digital asset issuance, designed to connect the world’s financial infrastructure. Financial institutions worldwide issue assets and settle payments on the Stellar network.

About Stellar Development Foundation

The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) is a non-profit organization that supports the development and growth of Stellar, an open-source network that connects the world’s financial infrastructure. Founded in 2014, the Foundation helps maintain Stellar’s codebase, supports the technical and business communities building on the network, and serves as a voice to regulators and institutions. The Foundation seeks to create equitable access to the global financial system, using the Stellar network to unlock the world’s economic potential through blockchain technology.

About Funfair Ventures

Funfair Ventures supports early-stage blockchain projects through funding and advisory services. Utilizing its own capital, the firm delivers genuine value and ongoing support to its investment partners. Since 2016, Funfair Ventures has been actively involved in developing, launching, operating, and marketing successful decentralized gaming applications, as well as managing a top 100 ERC20 token economy. With extensive expertise in gaming, blockchain technology, and tokenomics, the company brings deep industry knowledge to its investments.

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HANGZHOU, China, March 19, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Lianlian DigiTech Co., Ltd. (HKEX: 2598), a leader in China’s digital payment solution market and global commerce digitalization, announced its 2024 results. The company’s digital payment business achieved a total payment volume (TPV) of RMB3.3 trillion, a 64.7% year-on-year increase. Total revenue reached RMB1.32 billion, up 27.9%, with digital payment revenue at RMB1.15 billion (31.6% growth). Gross profit was RMB683 million (51.9% margin), and adjusted profit hit RMB78.7 million, a sharp turnaround from a loss in 2023.

Xin Jie, CEO of Lianlian DigiTech, commented, “2024 marked our first year as a listed company on HKEX. In the year, we successfully obtained a Luxembourg Electronic Money Institution (EMI) License, and our subsidiary, DFX Labs Company Limited, obtained a virtual asset trading platform (VATP) license from the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong. Leveraging our robust licensing portfolio, we are deploying cutting-edge technologies like AI and blockchain. Looking ahead, we are confident in our ability to create a superior service experience for customers, improve efficiency, and generate better investment returns for shareholders.”

During the period, the company’s global payment business saw significant growth, with TPV reaching RMB 281.5 billion, up 63.1% year-on-year. Total revenue from the global payment business also increased to RMB 808 million, a 23.1% year-on-year increase. By the end of 2024, Lianlian DigiTech has served a cumulative total of over 5.9 million customers.

Lianlian Digitech also has an interconnected domestic and international business model in turn drives the efficient growth of the domestic payment business. During the period, Lianlian DigiTech’s domestic payment business achieved a TPV of RMB3.0 trillion, a 64.9% year-on-year increase, and generated RMB343 million in revenue, up 57.1% year-on-year. Value-added services revenue was RMB146 million, a 9.5% year-on-year increase.

The company empowers enterprises’ digital transformation and globalization efforts through strategic innovation and new products, including digital marketing and corporate wallets.

Additionally, Lianlian Digitech deeply integrates cutting-edge AI technology, continuously refining its product capabilities to enhance user experience and operational efficiency through intelligent solutions.

Wei Ping, CFO of Lianlian DigiTech, said, “Our growth reflects a balanced strategy, that is, investing in new businesses, technologies and licenses, while maintaining financial discipline and prudently managing expenses. Looking ahead, we will further solidify our global licensing portfolio, strengthen partnerships across our value chain, and steadily increase investment in technological innovation and differentiated products.”

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• A quarter of UK businesses (24%) unaware of incoming changes to FRS 102 regulations
• Three-quarters (75%) set to significantly change their financial reporting process and more than half (52%) anticipating the changes to increase costs 

LONDON, March 19, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — New research from IRIS Software Group, a leading global provider of accounting, edtech, HR and payroll solutions, reveals that more than 720,000 UK businesses risk fines or financial penalties due to non-compliance with incoming lease auditing regulations, a new survey reveals. A quarter (24%) of respondents are completely unaware of the changes, leaving them vulnerable to legal and financial repercussions.

Businesses have less than a year before amendments to the FRS 102 legislation come into place on 1 January 2026. The most significant change is that assets acquired on a lease must now be reported on balance sheets, adding a layer of complexity to financial reporting. Non-compliance with FRS 102 could lead to significant financial penalties – especially for larger companies – an accumulation of unpaid tax and reputational damage with key new and existing clients.

Of those that are familiar with the new regulations, three quarters (75%) say that the changes to the leasing standard will require them to significantly change how their firms’ financial reporting processes, while nine in 10 (89%) say it will impact how they go about leasing goods.

Business equipment forms the majority of assets acquired on lease (42%), followed by IT equipment (38%) and real estate and property (37%).

Mark Chambers, Managing Director – Accountancy at IRIS, said: “Bringing leases onto the balance sheet is a daunting task, and a lot of businesses have ground to make up with just ten months to go. But meeting the requirements by the new year is by no means out of reach.

“Firms have faced similar changes to regulations before, such as when IFRS 16 was introduced in 2019. By working with IRIS and Innervision, firms can lessen the burden of this change and take the new legislation in their stride.

“Effectively evolving financial reporting means allowing for longer than you think you need to make the changes, committing resources to gather the masses of data and keeping on top of the reporting once the leases have been brought onto the balance sheet.”

The survey found that UK businesses are at various stages of progress towards becoming compliant. Two in five (38%) are still taking the time to assess the impact that the changes will have on their business, with more than a third (34%) yet to inform stakeholders, highlighting the amount of work that lies ahead.

Industrial firms, which include manufacturing, construction and automotive companies, are at highest risk of falling foul of the FRS 102 legislation. They’re almost twice as likely than average to say that the new leasing standard will sap their resources, more than half (52%) saying that it’ll have a negative impact on their costs.

Most respondents to the survey store data and contract information in desktop tools like Excel (46%). But more than a quarter (26%) reveal that data is scattered across multiple locations while a fifth (21%) are still using a paper filing system.

More than half (56%) of the businesses surveyed say they are investing in lease accounting software to help them manage the data and ensure compliance with FRS 102.

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Mark added: “UK businesses are facing a number of headwinds, but with greater awareness of the challenges coming and taking the time to plan ahead of time can mitigate against some of this risk.   Firms have an opportunity to move beyond some of their outdated processes to drive more efficient financial reporting, helping to reduce costs and free-up staff time.

“Tech and software is a proven aid for accounting, helping professionals gather, manage and track data effectively and make year-end reporting far less stressful. Proactive planning, stakeholder engagement and investment in the right tools are critical to ensure compliance and unlock significant benefits, including enhanced lease portfolio visibility, stronger governance and cost efficiencies.”

IRIS supports 93 of the top 100 UK accountancy firms and helps medium-sized and enterprise-level organisations around the world to automate lease accounting compliance with its leading software IRIS Innervision. The tool automates time-intensive jobs, centralising information and ensuring accuracy, so that compliance is guaranteed.

As organisations transition to the amended FRS 102 lease accounting standard, IRIS has developed the report to highlight key insights from the recent survey on readiness, as well as practical steps to help organisations navigate the transition with confidence.

You can download the full report here.

The research was conducted by Censuswide, among a sample of 500 in-house accountants. The data was collected between 22^nd – 27^th January 2025.

Media contact  
IRIS Software Group   
news@irisglobal.com 

About IRIS Software Group   

IRIS Software Group is a global provider of mission critical software and one of the UK’s largest privately held software companies. IRIS provides software solutions and services for finance, HR and payroll teams, educational organisations, and accountancy firms that takes the pain out of processes and lets professionals focus on the work they love. Through simplifying, automating and providing insights on everyday mission critical tasks for organisations of all shapes and sizes, IRIS ensures customers can look forward with certainty and confidence. 

IRIS is the largest third-party online filer with the UK Government. Ninety-three of the top 100 UK accountancy firms use IRIS software. One in six of the UK’s workforce is paid by IRIS payroll offerings, and globally, six million employees receive their payslip via IRIS software every month. More than 850,000 UK employees are managed by IRIS HR solutions. Over 12,000 UK schools and academies use IRIS, with four million parents and guardians using IRIS apps to connect with their children’s school; 300 million messages are delivered between schools and parents each year, and over £15 million transactional payments are processed every month. IRIS is certified as a Great Place to Work® and recognised as one of The Times Top 50 Employers for Gender Equality in 2023. IRIS is also recognised as one of the Best Workplaces for Wellbeing, one of the Best Workplaces in Tech and one of the Best Workplaces for Women. 

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To see how IRIS helps organisations get things right first time, every time, visit www.iris.co.uk or follow IRIS Software Group on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.   

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