In a strategic move to enhance its institutional offerings, MoonPay, a leading crypto payments company, has acquired Sodot, a renowned Israeli crypto security firm. This acquisition is a crucial step in launching MoonPay Institutional, a dedicated unit designed to cater to the needs of large financial institutions seeking to engage with cryptocurrency. According to sources cited by Bloomberg, the deal is valued at approximately $100 million and is structured as an all-stock transaction. The new institutional unit will provide an array of tools and services, including trading, tokenized securities, payments, wallet management, and stablecoin issuance, with Sodot's technology serving as the foundational key management layer.
At the helm of MoonPay Institutional will be Caroline D. Pham, who brings her expertise as the former acting chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Sodot's innovative self-hosted multi-party computation (MPC) infrastructure is particularly suited for institutions requiring stringent control over asset movement, transfer approvals, and automated transaction handling.
This acquisition marks a significant expansion of MoonPay's capabilities, building on its existing strengths in facilitating crypto transactions through various payment methods and its recent acquisitions of stablecoin platform Iron and crypto checkout firm Helio. With nearly 30 million customers worldwide and infrastructure support for 500 firms within the decentralized economy, MoonPay is poised to make a substantial impact in the institutional crypto space.