MoonPay, a crypto payments company, has bought the payments startup Meso to expand its reach worldwide. The acquisition is part of MoonPay’s plan to build an international payments network linking banks, card systems, stablecoins, and blockchains under regulatory frameworks covering both the U.S. and Europe’s MiCA regime.
Ivan Soto-Wright, Co-Founder and CEO of MoonPay, said the company has already built trusted ramps that brought millions into crypto and is now focused on creating a global network to move money across all forms and markets.
Leadership and expertise
Meso’s Co-Founders, Ali Aghareza and Ben Mills, are joining MoonPay as Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President of Product. Prior to this, they have worked at Braintree, PayPal, and Venmo. Their experience will help MoonPay improve its technology and products as it grows worldwide.
Part of a larger acquisition strategy
This marks MoonPay’s fourth acquisition this year. Earlier, the company acquired Solana-based payments processor Helio, stablecoin infrastructure firm Iron, and on-chain payment tool Decent.xyz. These acquisitions are designed to expand MoonPay’s crypto payment services, including support for purchases via cards, bank transfers, and mobile payment options.
Soto-Wright highlighted the company’s vision: “You should be able to go to any business, any merchant and pay with anything — whether that’s dollars, euros, or Bitcoin. That’s ultimately what we’re trying to build with your MoonPay account.”
Financials and future outlook
MoonPay, which began in 2019, hit a $3.4 billion valuation after raising $555 million in 2021. Despite laying off 10% of its workforce earlier this year to control costs, the company remains profitable. MoonPay is said to be talking to investors about a new funding round, which could push its valuation even higher.
With Meso joining the team, the company plans to strengthen U.S. banking support, upgrade its developer tools, and keep building a seamless global payments network. MoonPay sees itself as a core infrastructure provider for the crypto and Web3 world, letting other businesses integrate its services into their platforms, much like how Stripe works in traditional finance.
Also Read: MoonPay and Interac Team Up to Simplify Crypto Buys in Canada
