Mesh Nets $1B Valuation as Crypto Payments Go Real

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Mesh Makes a Dashing Leap: A Billion-Dollar Lark in the Crypto Bazaar

Mesh, that nimble little payments network for digital assets, has flamboyantly scooped up $75 million in a Series C round. This round has, if one may be permitted to say so, nudged the valuation to a princely $1 billion-enough to make a banker tip his hat and wonder if he should loosen his cravat.

Dragonfly Capital led the jaunt, with Moderne Ventures, Paradigm, SBI Investment, Coinbase Ventures, and Liberty City Ventures tagging along for the ride. One suspects the chorus line was as well-rehearsed as a music-hall sketch.

Since the curtain rose on this venture, Mesh’s total funding has inched its way to $200 million. The sum includes earlier rounds backed by Paradigm and PayPal Ventures, with parts of the deal settled in stablecoins-proof, if proof were needed, that folks are feeling chatty about blockchain settlements these days.

Mesh first took the stage in 2020, presenting itself as an all-in-one payments network that links crypto wallets, blockchains, and digital assets. The ambition? A single platform through which users and businesses can access a cornucopia of assets without needing a pocketful of different apps-one umbrella under which all the raindrops can fall.

According to company data, integrations now touch more than 900 million users across exchanges, wallets, and financial platforms worldwide. A bit of a crowd, one might say-enough to keep a village blacksmith busy for a decade.

The fresh funds will fuel geographic expansion and speedier product development. Mesh has its peepers trained on Latin America, Asia, and Europe, places where the marché for low-cost cross-border payments is as lively as a salad on a hot day.

India is singled out as a priority market owing to hefty remittance flows and a large base of mobile-first users. It would be ungentlemanly to suggest the remittances are a bit like potatoes-plentiful and easy to miss until you trip over them.

Market watchers note a tilt toward stable and regulated payment tools. For instance, Mesh has lent its support to Ripple’s USD stablecoin, a move that seems as sensible as wearing a belt with trousers. The company has also teamed up with Paxos and Rain, steps that make crypto payments look more like a respectable affair than a skittish racket.

New Funding Highlights: A Practical Path for Crypto Payments

CEO Bam Azizi remarked that the raise signals a broader shift in crypto markets-from token fireworks to networks that people can actually use. Faster settlement and lower fees remain the rallying cry as crypto payments compete with card networks and traditional rails.

“This funding shows that the winners of the next decade won’t be those who issue the most tokens, but those who build the network of networks that makes old card rails look like relics from a bygone music hall,” Azizi intoned with a blend of confidence and mischief.

Dragonfly general partner Rob Hadick highlighted Mesh’s “any-to-any” payment model as a big driver of adoption. Allowing consumers to spend different crypto assets without friction eliminates a main hurdle to everyday usage, he observed with a gleam of approval in his eye.

In case you’re keeping score, this round follows Mesh’s $82 million Series B in 2024, led by Paradigm, plus a later extension that drew in strategic investors. All told, Mesh now sits comfortably among the better-funded outfits in the crypto-payment infrastructure scene.

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2026-01-28 01:12