E-commerce Unicorn Bolt To Buy Blockchain Startup Wyre For $1.5B
Originally published by Crunchbase News
Fintech unicorn Bolt is buying crypto startup Wyre for $1.5 billion, The Information reported Thursday, citing sources familiar with the matter. The cash-and-stock deal for Wyre, founded in 2013, adds crypto payment capabilities to Bolt’s e-commerce checkout technology.
Wyre has raised $29.1 million from venture investors, Crunchbase data shows, including a raise in January 2021 led by blockchain investor Stellar Development Foundation.
San Francisco-based Bolt has raised a total of $1 billion from private investors, including $355 million most recently as part of its Series E raise. The company is valued at an estimated $11 billion, according to The Crunchbase Unicorn Board.
The Wyre acquisition is expected to close in the third or fourth quarter of this year, per The Information. The deal will integrate San Francisco-based Wyre’s blockchain technology into Bolt, rather than have the crypto company operate independently, the publication reported.
Bolt most recently acquired Tipser, a Stockholm-based content monetization platform, for $200 million in November.