Odaily Planet Daily News: MoonPay Inc. has acquired cryptocurrency payment startup Meso Network, moving towards building a global payment network that supports both crypto and fiat currencies, and can compete more directly with Circle Internet Group Inc. and Visa Inc. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Its CEO Ivan Soto-Wright said that the acquisition can 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 MoonPay's chief technology officer and senior vice president of products, respectively. The two previously worked at PayPal's Braintree department and Venmo, respectively. People familiar with the matter revealed that MoonPay is negotiating with investors for a new round of financing, and its valuation is expected to increase further from US$3.4 billion in 2021. The spokesperson declined to comment.

The acquisition of Meso Network is reportedly MoonPay's fourth acquisition this year, following its previous acquisitions of Iron, Helio, and the unannounced Decent.xyz deal. (Bloomberg)