MoonPay, a crypto payments infrastructure company, has acquired payments startup Meso to expand its global services
The deal was announced today, Sept. 16, Tuesday, and it’s aimed to help Moonpay grow worldwide by connecting banks, cards, stablecoins, and blockchains in one network that follows U.S. and European rules.
Two founders of Meso will join MoonPay’s leadership. Ali Aghareza will be the new Chief Technology Officer, and Ben Mills will become Senior Vice President of Product. Both have worked at big payment companies like Braintree, PayPal, and Venmo. Aghareza helped build Braintree and worked at PayPal before starting Meso in 2022. Mills worked in product and developer roles at Braintree, Venmo, and Solana.
MoonPay said the acquisition is part of its plan to make a global payments network. The network will allow money to move in many ways, including traditional bank payments and crypto.
“We’ve built trusted ramps that brought millions into crypto, now we’re building the global network that will move money across every form and in every market,” said Ivan Soto-Wright, MoonPay’s co-founder and CEO.
However, this is not MoonPay’s first purchase this year. Earlier this year, it bought Helio, a Solana-based payment company, Iron, a stablecoin infrastructure firm, and Decent.xyz, an onchain payment tool. Together, these purchases help MoonPay give more options to customers. People will be able to buy crypto using cards, bank transfers, or mobile payments.
MoonPay did not say how much it paid for Meso. The company has raised big funding, including $555 million in 2021, which made it worth $3.4 billion. Even with growth, MoonPay had to lay off about 10% of its workers earlier this year because of high costs and lower profits than expected.
MoonPay started in 2019 and works under licenses like Money Transmitter Licenses, BitLicenses, and Europe’s MiCA. Meso’s technology helps link normal financial systems with crypto networks.
Also Read: BitMine Boosts Ethereum Holdings to $10.8B As Stock Soars
