MoonPay, a US-based crypto payments company, announced on September 16, 2025, the acquisition of fintech startup Meso for an undisclosed sum, a move aimed at expanding MoonPay’s API-based payment infrastructure connecting traditional banking to cryptocurrency networks.
Meso, founded in 2022 by Braintree alumni Ben Mills and Ali Aghareza, specializes in API-based payment infrastructure. This technology links conventional banking systems with various cryptocurrency networks, including Ethereum, Bitcoin, and Solana, facilitating direct purchases through debit cards and digital wallets.
Following the acquisition, Ben Mills, formerly a Venmo product chief and head of payments innovation at Solana, will assume the role of senior vice president of product at MoonPay. Ali Aghareza, with over six years of experience at PayPal, will become MoonPay’s chief technology officer.
MoonPay stated that this deal marks “a major milestone in our evolution to a global payments network connecting banks, card networks, stablecoins and blockchains under a unified regulatory framework, including MTLs, BitLicenses and MiCA approval.” Ivan Soto-Wright, CEO and co-founder of MoonPay, described the Meso acquisition as “a turning point” for the company, adding: “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.”
MoonPay currently holds 47 state Money Transmitter licenses in the US and, as of June, a BitLicense in New York. The company has also secured approval under the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation in Europe.
This acquisition follows MoonPay’s earlier purchases in 2025, including Helio, a cryptocurrency payments platform for merchants acquired in January for a reported $175 million, and stablecoin API start-up Iron, snapped up in March. Also in March, MoonPay secured a $200 million credit line with Galaxy, a blockchain and digital asset-focused financial platform.
