Mesh hits unicorn status as crypto payments go mainstream

Mesh Connect, a five-year-old crypto infrastructure startup, has vaulted to a $1 billion valuation after raising $75 million in a funding round that underscores growing momentum in crypto-based payments.

Dragonfly Capital led the round, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Paradigm, Moderne Ventures and Liberty City Ventures, according to the company.

Mesh positions itself as connective tissue for the fragmented crypto economy, allowing exchanges, wallets and financial platforms to seamlessly interact.

Much like Plaid helps fintech apps link to consumers’ bank accounts, Mesh enables platforms to connect to users’ crypto wallets—an approach gaining traction as crypto payments scale.

PayPal is one of Mesh’s marquee clients, according to Bloomberg.

The company uses the platform to let merchants accept payments from wallets including Coinbase, OKX, Phantom and MetaMask, with Mesh automatically converting crypto into fiat currency or PayPal’s PYUSD stablecoin at checkout.

Mesh now processes close to $10 billion in monthly transaction volume, a surge that helped catalyze the investment, Dragonfly general partner Rob Hadick said.

The acceleration follows July’s passage of the Genius Act, the first federal regulatory framework for stablecoins, which investors say has encouraged businesses to build more user-friendly, compliant crypto payment products.

With fresh capital in hand, Mesh plans to expand into Latin America, Asia and Europe, targeting local fintechs and payment platforms as its next growth engine.