Bybit Pay integrates Mesh to enable direct cryptocurrency payments

Bybit Pay integrates the Mesh network and supports more than 300 wallets and exchanges.

Bybit Pay has connected to Mesh's network covering more than 300 wallets, exchanges and financial platforms, allowing its purported 80 million users to directly use assets in exchange accounts to make payments or transfer funds.

Core Points

Bybit users can make direct payments or recharge supported accounts without first withdrawing assets.

Enterprises that have connected to Mesh can directly add Bybit Pay through existing integrations.

Merchants can choose the time and method of fund settlement independently in the supported markets.

Mesh completed US$75 million in financing in January this year at a valuation of US$1 billion.

Bybit Pay simplifies the cryptocurrency payment process

Bybit stated in an announcement released on September 3 that users can now directly use their exchange account balances when making settlement or recharge operations on platforms supported by Mesh. When Bybit Pay appears among the available payment methods, users can choose this option and directly use the assets already in their Bybit account to complete the transaction without first withdrawing funds to a separate wallet, manually exchanging them, or transferring them to other services.

For enterprises, this integration adds a new source of payment without requiring a separate access to Bybit. Companies that already use Mesh can enable Bybit Pay with the same technology settings to accept payments from eligible Bybit users.

Bybit describes its 80 million users as a potential market for participating merchants. The data came from the company itself and was not independently verified in the announcement.

Settlement Settings Function

Settlement settings are another part of the service. According to Bybit, Mesh's programmable tools allow companies to set the method and time of fund settlement based on different markets. The announcement does not list the cryptocurrencies, settlement currencies, transaction fees or geographical restrictions supported by the new option.

Bam Azizi, co-founder and CEO of Mesh, said: "People should not have to transfer their money to use it. Our network connects directly to where the funds are located." Sophie Chen, head of marketing for Bybit Card and Pay, pointed out that users can use assets in their accounts to make payments, while the receiving platform can obtain their preferred assets. This conversion and settlement feature reduces the number of manual steps required when payers and recipients require different currencies.

According to the exchange, Bybit Pay will be open to businesses that have connected to Mesh from September 3, and merchants still need to choose to activate the feature before their customers can use it.

Mesh connects more than 300 financial platforms

Mesh operates an infrastructure layer that connects wallets, cryptocurrency exchanges and financial applications. Participating platforms can embed supported accounts and payment options into their own interfaces, eliminating the need for users to copy wallet addresses or arrange separate transfers. According to Mesh, its network covers more than 300 platforms, and its tools support digital asset transfers, account connections and payment settlement between participating services, but specific functional access depends on the platform, assets and markets involved.

A similar model was adopted when CoinDCX connected to Mesh transfers in April 2024. This connection allows CoinDCX users to transfer assets from associated accounts without copying lengthy wallet addresses and initiate transfers through the in-app menu. Pantera Ventures also previously invested US$5 million in Mesh using PYUSD stablecoins in January 2024. At the time, Mesh was developing payment, account aggregation and transaction services for hundreds of connected platforms.

Since then, the company has further expanded its payment and settlement business. Depending on the service configuration, merchants can still charge designated stablecoins or fiat currencies when customers use different supported assets to make payments. This arrangement places asset conversions behind the payment interface, eliminating the need for customers to complete all steps one by one.

In May this year, Mesh also entered another public sector application scenario. Bermuda uses Stellar network for government payments. This project is synchronized with the integration of Mesh and Stellar, connecting participating wallets and services to stablecoin settlement on the network.

Mesh Financing focuses on payment infrastructure

Mesh completed a US$75 million Series C financing in January this year, with a total financing of more than US$200 million and a company valuation of US$1 billion. Dragonfly Capital led the investment, followed by Paradigm, Moderne Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, SBI Investment and Liberty City Ventures. The company said it would use the financing to expand into Latin America, Asia and Europe.

According to previous reports, Mesh led the week in which 14 encryption projects disclosed a total of US$243.9 million in financing. The company, formerly known as Front Finance, raised approximately US$205 million in total. Investor interest continued into July, when Axios reported that Binance planned to lead another round of financing for Mesh at a valuation of up to US$2 billion. As of the time news of the negotiations broke, neither company had officially announced or completed the transaction. Trading at this valuation will double the company's January valuation. Negotiations also include direct connections with the exchange market, because Binance, like Bybit, holds customer assets, which can be used through payment instruments if the relevant services are connected.

Existing investors in Mesh have included Coinbase Ventures and Pantera Ventures, allowing the company to establish financial connections with both cryptocurrency exchanges and major payment groups. Its latest integration uses Bybit's customer accounts as another source of funding for participating merchants and financial platforms.

US users face tax and access issues

Bybit's announcement described Mesh connectivity as globally integrated, but did not specify whether Bybit Pay would be open to U.S. users. Access depends on Bybit's regional services, the location of each merchant, and the assets supported by a particular transaction. For Americans with access to supported cryptocurrency payment services, using digital assets may create federal tax obligations, even if payments are made directly from exchange balances.

The IRS treats digital assets as property rather than currency. Its guidelines state that converting cryptocurrency into goods or services is a disposal act, and users need to calculate capital gains or losses based on the cost basis of the asset and the fair market value at the time of payment. The IRS also requires taxpayers to report digital asset transactions even if they do not generate taxable benefits. Records should include asset type, transaction time, quantity, dollar value and cost basis. Broker reporting rules add another consideration. The IRS stated that certain managed trading platforms, managed wallet providers and digital asset payment processors fall within the scope of final reporting regulations. Reportable transactions completed from January 1, 2025 require a total income report, and some transactions require a basic report from January 1, 2026.