Rain, a stablecoin payments infrastructure company, has released its Agent Control Layer, enabling businesses to set programmatic spending guardrails for AI agents at the infrastructure level. The capability allows companies to define conditions under which AI agents can spend and move money before transactions occur. The system works across Rain's APIs, letting partners configure controls including merchant category codes, approved merchants, transaction amounts and frequency. Parameters are enforced at issuance rather than retroactively. Rain's infrastructure already supports agents booking travel, managing subscriptions and executing procurement workflows in production. The Agent Control Layer extends across Rain's money movement suite, including virtual accounts and stablecoin payments. Y Combinator-backed Sponge is among early customers using the technology to issue virtual cards backed by stablecoin balances.

Rain has expanded its Stablecoin Card network through a partnership with Mastercard, adding credit and prepaid card options alongside its existing Visa-focused model. The deal enables institutional clients to settle payments using stablecoins across Mastercard-linked systems whilst maintaining familiar card experiences. The expansion follows Rain's recent $250 million Series C funding round at a $1.95 billion valuation. The company handles stablecoin conversion and settlement behind the scenes, allowing enterprises to launch compliant card programmes without overhauling existing payment systems. The move positions Rain deeper within global payment infrastructure as stablecoins increasingly support settlement, treasury movement and merchant payments beyond crypto trading. Rain now competes with firms like Stripe and Coinbase in pushing stablecoins into practical business use cases across dual payment networks.

Rain Financial Inc. has acquired Digital Ma'arefa, a Saudi-based financial media company behind The Finance Memo and Crypto Memo, completing the transaction on 30 March 2026. The deal brings Digital Ma'arefa's network of over one million followers and 100,000 newsletter subscribers into Rain's operations. Digital Ma'arefa's three co-founders, Abdullah Mashat, Wael AlMutlaq and Abdullah Fageih, will join Rain, with Mashat appointed managing director. Founded in 2021, Digital Ma'arefa operates several newsletters covering finance, crypto, tourism and artificial intelligence. Rain, a GCC-based crypto brokerage licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain and Abu Dhabi Global Market, raised $110 million in 2022 at a $500 million valuation. The company serves over two million users and has processed $11 billion in trading volume since 2017.