Crypto startup MoonPay has raised $555 million in its first-ever funding round led by Tiger Global and Coatue. The funding round brings the company’s valuation to a total of $3.4 billion, an impressive feat for a startup that’s still quite new to the crypto business scene.
MoonPay which allows users to buy and sell cryptocurrency on its platform using credit cards, bank transfers or other generally acceptable payment options was founded in 2018. It also sells its technology to cryptocurrency businesses such as Bitcoin.com and OpenSea, a marketplace for non-fungible tokens. MoonPay’s CEO Ivan Soto-Wright calls this model “crypto-as-a-service”. According to him, the startup’s biggest goal is to make cryptocurrency and related services accessible to everyone who wishes to participate; in the same way that video conferencing platforms like Zoom made video call possible over the internet. “With the blockchain and cryptocurrencies, I think right now we are still in the dial-up days. Eventually, we will get to this place where it’s frictionless to move any amount of value around anywhere in the world, and costs move as close as possible to zero”.
Thanks to Bitcoin’s as well as other cryptocurrencies recent boom, crypto startups have seen a surge in investments in their companies. Investors want to take advantage of what could be the next big thing in crypto. For now, MoonPay remains a gateway to digital assets that include Bitcoin, Ethereum network’s Ether, and other digital tokens like NFTs. “People are calling us similar to PayPal, but for crypto”, MoonPay’s CEO said. The company has plans to evolve into a platform that’ll provide “everything crypto” and wants to become one of the biggest crypto platforms globally in the future. The company seems to not be worried about regulatory controls and actions. It has already set up measures to tackle regulatory issues if they occur, CEO Ivan Soto-Wright said.
MoonPay has been profitable since 2019 after its launch, the company claims. It also says that it is on its way to hitting $150 million in annual revenue this year after it saw a surge in its transaction volume from the previous year. Currently, the platform has at least 7 million users and faces huge competition from companies like PayPal.
The funds raised will be used to increase its product listing as well as expand. The company also plans on its initial public offering. “We have aspirations eventually to be a public company”, the company’s CEO said.
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