In a significant move to enhance its institutional offerings, MoonPay, a leading cryptocurrency payment firm, has acquired Sodot, an innovative Israeli security startup, for approximately $100 million in an all-stock deal. This acquisition is a crucial step in the launch of MoonPay Institutional, a dedicated unit designed to cater to the needs of large financial institutions seeking to engage with cryptocurrency. The new unit, spearheaded by Caroline D.
Pham, who recently joined MoonPay after serving as the Acting Chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, will provide a comprehensive suite of tools and services including trading, tokenized securities, payments, wallet management, and stablecoin issuance. Sodot's cutting-edge, self-hosted multi-party computation infrastructure will serve as the foundational security layer for this new division, offering institutions greater control over asset movement, transfer approvals, and transaction automation. With this acquisition, MoonPay further solidifies its position in the market, building upon its existing capabilities in facilitating crypto purchases and sales through various payment methods, and its recent expansions into enterprise infrastructure with the acquisitions of stablecoin platform Iron and crypto checkout firm Helio. Currently, MoonPay supports nearly 30 million customers globally and powers the infrastructure for over 500 firms within the decentralized economy.