We have mentioned many times the great rise of the crypto market with investors turning more often and more “seriously” to promising Startups. MoonPay, which was founded in 2019 and recently raised 555 million dollars in its first round of funding led by Tiger Global and Coatue, is such an example.
Miami-based MoonPay allows users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies using conventional payment methods such as credit cards, bank transfers or mobile wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay while offering “white label” services to third parties such as Bitcoin.com and OpenSea, a ” Crypto-as-a-Service ” model, according to CEO Ivan Soto-Wright. Wright also said the company aims to make cryptocurrencies accessible en masse in the same way that video conferencing tools like Zoom have facilitated Internet calling.
Although MoonPay is currently focusing on cryptocurrencies and NFTs, Wright’s vision is to expand the platform to include almost everything in the crypto market: from digital fashion to specialty financial products.
MoonPay has been profitable since the launch of its platform in 2019 and is well on its way to reaching 150 million dollars in annual revenue in 2021 as trading volume jumped 35 times over 2020 with its service being currently used by more than 7 million customers.
In any case, the company faces and will face tough competition, mainly from pioneers of fintech, such as PayPal, but also new banks such as Revolut.
Finally, according to the CEO of MoonPay, the company has strong controls in dealing with money laundering with regulators being increasingly cautious about illegal activity in the cryptocurrency market.
