Bolt Financial Will Buy Crypto Payments Company Wyre

investopedia.com:

Bolt Financial Inc., the fintech firm providing cloud-based checkout and payments services, will acquire crypto payments company Wyre Payments Inc. for $1.5 billion. Bolt announced the acquisition on April 7; the Wall Street Journal confirmed the value of the acquisition.

Bolt's acquisition is among the largest in the cryptocurrency space and the largest not involving a Special Purpose Acquisition Company, or SPAC. It comes as interest in the cryptocurrency industry has reached new highs, with the total value of global cryptocurrencies more than tripling in 2021 alone.

Wyre Payments provides retail and business customers exchange services to allow for transferring of national currencies and digital tokens between crypto wallets and traditional banks.In a press release, Bolt explained that the acquisition aims to «simplify and democratize cryptocurrency transactions and bring the power of these technologies to… merchants and their consumers.» Bolt may utilize Wyre's fiat-to-crypto payments infrastructure to bulk up its own cryptocurrency transaction offerings. Eventually, it is expected that Bolt customers will be able to accept and make cryptocurrency payments for physical goods.

Bolt's clients include apparel retailers Forever 21, Juicy Couture, and Lucky Brand, among others. The acquisition is expected to close by the end of the year.

Bolt Financial is a fintech startup that offers checkout and payment services for merchant clients and individual customers. Wyre Payments is a cryptocurrency payment services company that facilitates fiat-to-crypto transfers, among other exchanges.

Bolt says that its acquisition of Wyre will enable its clients to accept cryptocurrency payments for physical goods—and allow individual