MoonPay acquires Meso and hires ex-PayPal and Venmo executives
MoonPay announced Tuesday its acquisition of payments startup Meso Network, according to Bloomberg. The deal will allow MoonPay to expand support for US banking rails, including ACH transfers and the instant payments system.
As part of the acquisition, Meso's co-founders are joining MoonPay's leadership team. Ali Agareza, who previously led engineering at Braintree (PayPal), will become chief technology officer. Ben Mills, former head of product at Venmo, will serve as senior vice president of product.
Founded in 2019, MoonPay develops services for seamless conversion between fiat currencies and crypto assets. Its platform is integrated with crypto exchanges, wallets and DeFi protocols. The company’s goal is to build a global network where users can “pay with anything” – dollars, euros or Bitcoin.
The Meso acquisition marks MoonPay’s fourth deal in 2025. Earlier this year, the company bought startups Iron, Helio and Decent.xyz. Each purchase has added new modules – from virtual bank accounts to crypto payment solutions for e-commerce.
Competition in crypto payments has heated up recently. Circle launched its own payments network in the spring, while Visa, PayPal and Stripe are all pushing deeper into digital assets. MoonPay plans to compete directly, focusing on versatility and fast integrations.
The Meso acquisition marks MoonPay’s fourth deal in 2025. Earlier this year, the company bought startups Iron, Helio and Decent.xyz. Each purchase has added new modules – from virtual bank accounts to crypto payment solutions for e-commerce.
Competition in crypto payments has heated up recently. Circle launched its own payments network in the spring, while Visa, PayPal and Stripe are all pushing deeper into digital assets. MoonPay plans to compete directly, focusing on versatility and fast integrations.
CEO Ivan Soto-Wright said the company turned profitable last year. He's expecting 2025 to deliver record revenue and cash flow. The company is also exploring a new funding round. If successful, it could push MoonPay's valuation past the $3.4 billion it reached in 2021.
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