Ex-PayPal and Venmo vets launch Meso to connect crypto wallets with bank accounts, announce $9.5M seed round

Niamh Rowe

A team of fintech-turned-crypto converts today launched Meso, a payment platform that brings digital assets and fiat currencies closer together, making it easier for users to move money on- and off-chain. <div class="paywall-selector"></div><div class="paywall">



&#8220;A crypto app, like a self-custodial wallet or a centralized exchange, can now build in a seamless way for a user to load money in and out of their <a href="https://fortune.com/crypto/crash-course/cryptocurrency-wallets/">wallet</a>,&#8221; Meso cofounder and CEO Ben Mills told Fortune.



The on-ramp product integrates bank accounts and cards within crypto applications, allowing the latter to onboard users without first sending them off to a <a href="https://fortune.com/crypto/crash-course/exchanges/">centralized exchange</a> to fund their wallets. The result is a speedier, simplified onboarding process.



A seamless transition between crypto wallets and fiat banking apps is needed for broader adoption, Mills said. Difficulties during the fiat-crypto transaction process can result in abandonment of up to 90% of purchases, with approximately half of transactions failing, according to <a href="https://research.cointelegraph.com/reports/global-crypto-onramp-report">research</a> by Cointelegraph.



“We have a solution that allows you to keep the user where they are, which is, frankly, just better for everyone,&#8221; Mills said.



The founders previously worked at <a href="https://fortune.com/crypto/2024/01/29/paypal-5-million-pyusd-stablecoin-plaid-crypto-startup-mesh/">PayPal</a>, <a href="https://fortune.com/tag/braintree/">Braintree</a>, and <a href="https://fortune.com/2023/11/22/irs-no-cracking-down-venmo-payment-app-sales-yet/">Venmo</a>, and are now using their consumer fintech expertise to better integrate the TradFi and DeFi worlds.



“Meso envisions a future where users aren’t required to use centralized exchanges to get started in crypto,” Mills said in a statement.



Users pay a 1.5% fee to transfer funds between their bank and wallet, and the integration is compatible with web apps, browser extensions, and mobile.



Mills says one obstacle he faced at Venmo, where he was head of product, was how to encourage users to keep their money in-app. With the creation of a seamless user experience of topping up and withdrawing funds from the Venmo balance, users grew more comfortable keeping their money there, which is a lesson he&#8217;s brought to Meso.



Unlocking the paradigm that it&#8217;s quick and easy to move funds between a bank account and a digital wallet is key to bringing crypto into the mainstream, Mills says. In Venmo&#8217;s infancy &#8220;there was this perception that this is fake internet money, and that&#8217;s really similar to crypto&#8221; but then there&#8217;s &#8220;the moment they&#8217;re like, &#8216;Oh, that&#8217;s actual money, it&#8217;s in my bank account—this is very tangible to me now.'&#8221;



So far, Meso has partnered only with Cross River Bank, a crypto-friendly regional bank that worked with USDC stablecoin issuer Circle after the <a href="https://fortune.com/2023/03/30/blackstone-ceo-steve-schwarzman-svb-iphones-contagion-wont-spread/">collapse of Silicon Valley Bank</a>. 



Meso today also unveiled a $9.5 million seed round co-led by Solana Ventures and Ribbit Capital, with participation from Canonical Crypto and 6th Man Ventures. The round also drew participation from angel investors, including Phantom cofounder Chris Kalani, <a href="https://fortune.com/company/pinterest/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> CEO Bill Ready, and Archie Puri of Bodhi Labs.



“[Meso’s] work on seamless fiat-blockchain transactions is helping to create a ubiquitous payment platform, connecting disparate parts of the financial grid,” Ribbit Capital’s Justin Saslaw said in a statement.</div>

The new payment platform brings digital assets and fiat currencies closer together.

Learn more about all things crypto with short, easy-to-read lesson cards. Click here for <a href="https://fortune.com/crypto/crash-course/">Fortune's Crypto Crash Course</a>.

F-BreakingNews

Cryptocurrency

Companies

Ex-PayPal and Venmo vets launch Meso to connect crypto wallets with bank accounts, announce $9.5M seed round | Fortune Crypto

Some Fortune Crypto pricing data is provided by Binance.

Larry Neumeister

The Associated Press

Celsius Network founder sentenced to 12 years in prison after prosecutor dubs him a predator who ‘preyed on hope’

/crypto/2025/05/09/celsius-network-founder-sentenced-12-years-prison/

Ben Weiss

Coinbase says $2.9 billion Deribit deal will increase profits even as income drops in Q1

/crypto/2025/05/08/coinbase-derebit-q1-earnings-profit-drop-diversification/

Leo Schwartz

Exclusive: Meta in talks to deploy stablecoins three years after giving up on landmark crypto project

/crypto/2025/05/08/meta-stablecoins-exploration-usdc-circle-diem-libra/

Catherine McGrath

Bitcoin reclaims $100,000 as Trump announces trade deal with the U.K.

/crypto/2025/05/08/bitcoin-jumps-trump-trade-deal-uk/

Binance founder “CZ” seeks pardon from President Trump after 4-month stint in prison

/crypto/2025/05/07/binance-founder-cz-pardon-trump/

How the Trump family is poised to profit from a $2 billion Middle East crypto deal that uses their stablecoin

/crypto/2025/05/07/world-liberty-financial-wlfi-trump-binance-mgx-stablecoin-deal/

Fortune Editors

Fortune Crypto provides smart and timely news about Bitcoin, Ethereum and how startups and big companies are using blockchain to transform finance and investing.

Daily News, Analysis &amp; Price Data on Bitcoin, Ethereum &amp; More

Uncategorized

homepage

Fortune Crypto

NFTs & Culture

Regulators

Latest News, Analysis, Insights &amp; Price Data on Cryptocurrencies

The Coins

Christiaan Hetzner

Detroit automakers fuming after Trump’s first trade deal gives preferential treatment to imported U.K. cars over their own

https://fortune.com/2025/05/09/detroit-automakers-fuming-trump-trade-deal-preferential-treatment-uk-cars/?itm_source=parsely-api

https://fortune.com/crypto/2025/05/08/meta-stablecoins-exploration-usdc-circle-diem-libra/?itm_source=parsely-api

A North Korean agent applied for a job at a popular crypto firm: They tripped him up with a simple question about Halloween

https://fortune.com/crypto/2025/05/03/north-korean-applied-job-crypto-kraken-it-worker/?itm_source=parsely-api

https://fortune.com/crypto/2025/05/08/bitcoin-jumps-trump-trade-deal-uk/?itm_source=parsely-api

https://fortune.com/crypto/2025/05/07/world-liberty-financial-wlfi-trump-binance-mgx-stablecoin-deal/?itm_source=parsely-api

https://fortune.com/crypto/2025/05/07/binance-founder-cz-pardon-trump/?itm_source=parsely-api