PayPal-backed Mesh teams up with Reown to verify Bitcoin wallets for Travel Rule

Connection layer Mesh has partnered with Reown for wallet ownership verification, starting with the Bitcoin ecosystem.

Mesh, a US fintech whose investors include PayPal Ventures, has joined forces with Reown (formerly WalletConnect) to launch wallet ownership verification for UTXO-based assets, starting with Bitcoin (BTC).

In a Nov. 11 press release, Mesh said the wallet ownership feature increases functionality and meets the “need to comply with the European Banking Authority’s Travel Rules Guidelines,” which come into effect on Dec. 30.

“Compliance with the Travel Rule can be a significant challenge for crypto businesses as it requires secure data exchange between different providers.”

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The Travel Rule is a regulation from the Financial Action Task Force that requires crypto businesses to collect and share certain customer information for transactions above a certain threshold (usually $1,000) in order to prevent money laundering and illegal activities.

Reown CEO Jess Houlgrave said regulation “will have a greater role in our industry” and will “pave the way” for forward-thinking organisations. Mesh co-founder and CEO Bam Azizi noted that there is “tremendous market demand” for wallet ownership verification solutions that comply with EBA guidelines, emphasizing that wallet interoperability will be crucial going forward.

Founded by Bam Azizi and Adam Israel in 2020, Mesh raised $22 million in a Series A funding round in September 2023. This capital infusion, led by Money Forward, is supported by other investors including Galaxy and Samsung Next. Later, the startup also raised funding from PayPal Ventures in the form of PayPal’s PYUSD stablecoin.