Updated:
Moon Pay
Moon Pay was founded in 2019 by Ivan Soto-Wright and Victor Faramond, with initial backing from Shrug Capital and Coinbase Ventures. The company is registered...
Moon Pay
Moon Pay was founded in 2019 by Ivan Soto-Wright and Victor Faramond, with initial backing from Shrug Capital and Coinbase Ventures. The company is registered in Singapore as Moon Pay PTE Limited and maintains operational offices across North America, Europe, and Africa. Its founding mission centered on solving the user-experience gap in cryptocurrency purchasing. The firm builds and operates a fiat-to-crypto infrastructure platform that lets users buy, sell, and swap digital assets using traditional payment methods — credit cards, bank transfers, Apple Pay. Its primary revenue stream is transaction fees from processing buy orders, but it also offers Moon Pay Connect, a widget that external platforms embed for crypto checkout. Known clients include OpenSea (the largest NFT marketplace), Ledger (hardware wallet), and MetaMask. The platform supports over 80 cryptocurrencies and 20+ fiat currencies (per firm communications). Moon Pay has raised approximately $155M in venture funding from investors including Coatue, Paradigm, and Tiger Global, with a reported valuation of $3.4B in its 2022 Series B (per Bloomberg, 2022). The firm employs around 300 people globally, with hubs in Singapore, London, and New York. It also operates Moon Pay Ventures, its in-house venture and investment arm, which writes checks into early-stage crypto and blockchain companies. In November 2023, Moon Pay expanded its offering by launching a self-custody wallet directly compete with MetaMask and Trust Wallet. Moon Pay's structural differentiator is its focus on regulatory compliance in a sector often accused of operating in gray zones. It holds money transmitter licenses or equivalents in over 40 US states, plus regulatory authorizations in the UK, Canada, and Australia. It also limits its business to non-custodial infrastructure — it never holds private keys or user funds beyond the transaction settlement window (per firm documentation).
General information
Firm type
Financial Technology (Fintech)
Year founded
2019
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
Singapore
City
Singapore
Corporate office
Singapore, Singapore
Additional offices
Hingham, MA, United States · Cape Town, South Africa · San Francisco, CA, United States · Jersey City, NJ, United States · Ikeja, Nigeria · New York, NY, United States · London, United Kingdom
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who founded Moon Pay and what is their background?
Ivan Soto-Wright and Victor Faramond co-founded Moon Pay in 2019. Soto-Wright previously co-founded digital identity company ShoCard (acquired by Evernym) and worked at engineering roles at Sentry and Other Machine. Faramond's background includes roles at Initial, a blockchain software company, and engineering at Google (per firm communications).
How does Moon Pay make money?
Moon Pay generates revenue primarily through transaction fees on every fiat-to-crypto purchase processed on its platform. It charges a spread on the exchange rate plus a flat fee per transaction, which varies by payment method and region. Additionally, it charges API integration fees to enterprise clients embedding its widget. The firm does not take custody of user assets.
Does Moon Pay invest directly in cryptocurrency or blockchain projects?
Yes, through Moon Pay Ventures, its investment arm launched in 2022. The unit makes strategic investments in early-stage crypto and blockchain startups, focusing on infrastructure, DeFi, and NFT marketplaces. Notable portfolio companies include LayerZero, Rarible, and Immutable X (per firm announcements).
What regulatory licenses does Moon Pay hold?
Moon Pay holds money transmitter licenses or equivalents in over 40 US states, and is registered with the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as a crypto asset firm. It also holds an Australian Digital Currency Exchange (DCE) registration and has applied for licensing in other jurisdictions including Singapore (per firm website). The firm emphasizes compliance as a core differentiator.
What payment methods does Moon Pay support?
Moon Pay supports credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex), bank transfers (ACH in US, SEPA in Europe, Faster Payments in UK), Apple Pay, Google Pay, and select local payment methods such as PIX in Brazil and GCash in the Philippines. It offers near-instant settlement for some payment methods.
Is Moon Pay a direct competitor to Coinbase or Binance?
Moon Pay positions itself as infrastructure, not a consumer exchange. It provides the on-ramp layer that consumer-facing apps embed — so a company like OpenSea or a wallet like Ledger can allow users to buy crypto without needing their own exchange license. In that sense, Moon Pay is a supplier to competitors like Coinbase's payment services, not directly competing for retail trading volumes.
How does Moon Pay handle security and fraud?
Moon Pay uses a multi-layer fraud detection system including behavioral analytics, device fingerprinting, and transaction velocity checks. It holds a SOC 2 Type II report and follows industry-standard encryption for data in transit and at rest. The firm does not store private keys or user crypto assets, limiting exposure to custodial risk (per firm trust page).
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
Need institutional-grade insight on investors?
Altss delivers:
Prefer a guided tour?
We’ll walk you through: