PANews reported on December 11th that, according to The Block, payment giant Stripe has acquired the team of crypto startup Valora through an "acquisition-style hiring" deal, expanding its cryptocurrency business. On Wednesday, Valora founder Jackie Bona announced that the team would join Stripe to fulfill its mission of expanding access to the global financial system. Specific terms of the deal, including the number of Valora employees joining Stripe, were not disclosed. According to Bona, Stripe's acquisition does not appear to include the intellectual property behind Valora's technology. She wrote that the app will "return to its birthplace, cLabs, to continue operating, with cLabs leading its future development."

Launched in 2021, Valora is a mobile-first, user-controlled cryptocurrency wallet application, specifically for stablecoins on the CELO blockchain. Valora aims to make sending cryptocurrency as simple as sending a text message. It has previously partnered with peer-to-peer applications like M-Pesa to expand into the African market and with stablecoin issuer Tether to promote the global adoption of stablecoins.