MoonPay acquires crypto payment startup Meso Network, attracts former PayPal and Venmo executives

PANews September 16th news, according to Bloomberg, MoonPay Inc. acquired cryptocurrency payment startup Meso Network, and moved towards building a global payment network that supports both crypto and fiat currencies, which can compete more directly with Circle Internet Group Inc. and Visa Inc., with the terms of the agreement not disclosed. Its CEO Ivan Soto-Wright said the acquisition will improve support for the U.S. banking system and optimize the developer platform to facilitate product integration. Meso co-founders Ali Aghareza and Ben Mills will serve as Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President of Products at MoonPay, respectively. The two previously worked in the Braintree division of PayPal and Venmo respectively. A person familiar with the matter revealed that MoonPay is negotiating with investors about a new round of financing, and its valuation is expected to further increase from US$3.4 billion in 2021, and a spokesperson declined to comment. It is reported that the acquisition of Meso Network is MoonPay's fourth acquisition this year, followed by Iron, Helio and the unofficially announced Decent.xyz. transactions of acent.xyz.