MoonPay has acquired Solana payments startup Helio in an all-equity deal valued at $175 million, as confirmed by Helio CEO Stijn Paumen. The entire Helio team will join MoonPay, signaling the company's ambition to enhance its payment infrastructure beyond merely facilitating crypto transactions. Helio, known for its focus on e-commerce, allows merchants to accept payments through the Solana network. This acquisition aligns with a trend of increasing interest in mergers and acquisitions in the crypto payments space. While MoonPay's deal represents consolidation within the industry, it is noteworthy that this follows other significant transactions, including Stripe's $1.1 billion purchase of Bridge, a stablecoin infrastructure provider. Despite the ongoing challenges, the crypto sector continues to assert the potential of payments, with a recent poll indicating that payments are considered Solana's most underrated area. With this acquisition, MoonPay aims to position itself as a leading player in on-chain payments.

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