Bolt Financial, Wyre Payments Scrap Merger, Remain Partners

Payments FinTech Bolt Financial and crypto startup Wyre Payments are remaining business partners but have decided to scrap the $1.5 billion merger plans announced in April.

“Bolt remains a strong believer in crypto and a supporter of Wyre,” Bolt CEO Maju Kuruvilla said in an email to PYMNTS. “We will continue our existing commercial partnership with Wyre to pave the path of crypto integration into our ecosystem, bringing Wyre’s innovative crypto infrastructure to the world.”

See also: Bolt to Purchase Crypto Startup Wyre for $1.5B

The deal was originally expected to finalize before the year closed, PYMNTS reported April 7. Bolt was to integrate Wyre’s tech stack and in develop its application programming interface (API) offering, and Bolt’s shoppers would also gain access to several cryptocurrencies, fiat exchanges and compliance solutions.

While the deal isn’t moving forward, Bolt and Wyre have mutually agreed to continue their partnership as independent businesses with the goal of bringing more innovation to eCommerce and crypto. Remaining as independent organizations allows both companies to focus on their core competencies, according to the statement sent to PYMNTS.

Read more: Bolt Helps Revolve Offer One-Click Checkout at Fashion Week

“Wyre is enthusiastic about continuing its collaboration with Bolt,” said Wyre CEO Ioannis Giannaros. “We’ve already begun integrating Bolt’s technology to help bring 1-click crypto to millions of users within the crypto space. There is so much more innovation ahead.”

Wyre, a portfolio company of Ether Capital Corporation, will enter into a commercial agreement with Bolt to implement Wyre’s one-click solution for the Bolt customer platform, according to a Monday (Sept. 12) press release.

Ether Capital holds a minority equity interest in Wyre and said it plans to assess the fair market value as part of its third-quarter financial statements. Wyre is considered a non-core, portfolio investment by Ether Capital, per the release.

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