Crypto Payments Firm MoonPay Seals $60M+ All-Stock Acquisition of North Capital
In an all-stock transaction valued at over $60 million, MoonPay is acquiring North Capital, gaining regulated infrastructure capabilities for tokenized and private securities markets.
Crypto payments provider MoonPay has reached an agreement to purchase North Capital, a private-markets infrastructure provider, in a strategic move that advances the company's entry into regulated US securities infrastructure while developing services for tokenized real-world assets (RWAs).
Through this acquisition, MoonPay will gain capabilities in issuing, safeguarding and facilitating secondary market trading of private securities, including those in tokenized form, according to an announcement the company provided to Cointelegraph on Wednesday.
The all-stock transaction through which MoonPay will acquire North Capital carries a valuation exceeding $60 million, according to a source with knowledge of the deal who spoke to Cointelegraph. Ivan Soto-Wright, MoonPay's CEO, stated that the purchase would enable the company to bridge different segments of the financial system using "modern, programmable infrastructure."
Based in Midvale, Utah, North Capital most recently secured funding in October 2021, raising $2.18 million in a seed financing round at a valuation that was not disclosed, based on data aggregated by Traxcn. The company's investor base includes Karlani Capital and Fiduciary Trust International. MoonPay currently holds a valuation of $3.4 billion, per Traxcn data.
The portfolio of North Capital's operations encompasses broker-dealers, an alternative trading system (ATS), a transfer agent and an investment adviser, each of which maintains registration with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm has facilitated over $8.7 billion in combined primary and secondary transaction volume, the announcement indicated.
Upon completion of the transaction, North Capital will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary under MoonPay's corporate structure. The boards of directors at both companies have granted approval for the acquisition, though the deal still requires regulatory clearance and satisfaction of other standard closing conditions.
This purchase represents the most recent addition to MoonPay's acquisition activity this year as the firm diversifies its operations beyond its core crypto payments business. Previous acquisitions have included Sodot, a key management company, DFlow, a trading infrastructure platform, and Entendre, an AI finance operations platform, collectively enhancing the company's capabilities in institutional custody, onchain trading and financial operations management.