Payments Provider Bolt Financial to Acquire Crypto Startup Wyre

Bolt Financial Inc.said it agreed to acquire crypto infrastructure payments firm Wyre Payments Inc.

The transaction is valued at around $1.5 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. A Bolt spokesperson declined to comment when asked by Bloomberg News to confirm the amount. The purchase is expected to close later this year, Bolt said in a statement Thursday.

The two privately-owned San Francisco-based companies are seeking to provide a one-click cryptocurrency checkout system to simplify digital shopping. Bolt sells online services, while Wyre is a blockchain-based payments provider.

“This acquisition will pave the way ...