Binance is reportedly preparing to lead a new funding round for Mesh, the crypto payments and settlement firm, at a valuation as high as $2 billion, Axios said, citing people familiar with the matter. Neither Binance nor Mesh has formally announced the deal.
Why it matters
- The reported round would nearly double Mesh’s valuation in roughly six months — in January the company closed a $75 million Series C at a $1 billion valuation. That round was led by Dragonfly Capital and included Paradigm, Moderne Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, SBI Investment and Liberty City Ventures.
- A Binance-led investment would signal that top exchanges still view payments and settlement infrastructure as a strategic growth area and would place Mesh nearer the center of the stablecoin and tokenization races reshaping mainstream finance.
What Mesh does
Formerly Front Finance, Mesh builds plumbing that links wallets, exchanges, digital assets and fiat rails. Its technology aims to simplify crypto payments for end users while letting merchants and platforms accept settlement in stablecoins or fiat without handling complex blockchain operations. In short, Mesh tries to solve a common payments friction: the buyer and seller often want different settlement assets.
Market backdrop
Demand for digital-asset-to-fiat transfer tools, payment rails and settlement infrastructure has been rising as regulators clarify stablecoin rules and tokenization gains momentum across financial markets. Examples of related industry moves:
- Banking Circle launched regulated stablecoin settlement services after approval in Luxembourg, supporting USDC, USDG and its own EURI for institutional conversions between fiat and crypto.
- Major U.S. banks are backing a tokenized deposit network through the Clearing House, aiming for an early-2027 launch to enable round-the-clock settlement of tokenized deposits within regulated banking channels.
Partnerships and traction
Mesh has been expanding access through partners. In 2024 it partnered with Italian crypto wallet provider Conio, enabling Conio users to access multiple exchanges and additional withdrawal routes via Mesh’s connection layer — an example of how Mesh positions itself as an interoperability hub between traditional rails and crypto networks.
Why investors care
Investors have shifted attention from speculative trading apps and tokens toward infrastructure that supports regulated payments, cross-border transfers and institutional settlement. A Binance-led round at up to $2 billion would reflect that shift, underscoring continued demand for systems that bridge digital assets and traditional money — and signaling that settlement stacks remain a priority for big players in crypto.
Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news
