MoonPay – Democratizing Cryptocurrency Through Its Investment Application
In the interim, public confidence in cryptocurrencies has skyrocketed. Everyone from seasoned investors like Elon Musk to that high school student on Twitter is a hot topic among investors and in common culture.
Thanks to technologically based crypto payments and fraud protection systems, merchants may accept cryptocurrency-based payments for various goods and services. Additionally, it offers an international monetary onramp for debit and credit card transactions. It enables companies to accept payments in cryptocurrencies for various goods and services.
MoonPay, a financial business, is developing a cryptocurrency payment system. Users can switch between fiat money and cryptocurrencies using its on-and-off-ramp range of products using various payment methods, like credit and debit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, and local bank transfers. More than 300 well-known wallets, websites, and applications use MoonPay to take payments, combat fraud, and handle other online transactions. MoonPay is based in Miami, Florida, and was founded in 2019.
About MoonPay
A bitcoin payment processor is MoonPay. Debit cards, credit cards, and many other popular payment options are available for use while buying and selling cryptocurrencies and NFTs. The 2019 introduction of this payment service has gained significance due to the expanding NFT market. With just one objective in mind, MoonPay was established in 2019 to promote the use of cryptocurrencies.
Ivan Soto-Wright and Victor Faramond, the company’s only co-founders, set out to create a safe and incredibly straightforward software solution to enable people from all over the world to participate in the biggest technological shift since the advent of the internet.
Because of its simplicity, MoonPay is a preferred option for both regular investors and celebrities. According to the company’s website, the platform has around $3 billion worth of transactions performed and over 10 million active users across 160 countries.
MoonPay was the go-to payment processor when non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, initially gained popularity. Customers might purchase their preferred NFTs without worrying about cryptocurrencies. The marketplace gained additional traction once famous people bought pieces from the renowned Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection.
In a conventional exchange, you would first need to get a wallet, add the necessary amount of cryptocurrency, and then finish the transaction—a straightforward but time-consuming process. Using MoonPay greatly simplifies the process. The only thing required from the user is a budget. Then, MoonPay uses its unique techniques to determine a starting price for the digital asset.
MoonPay handles getting the required cryptocurrency, getting the tokens, and finally charging the customer.
Ivan Soto-Wright, CEO of MoonPay, states, “We’ve tried to make it as comparable a procedure as you would be communicating with your own bank.” He said, “you create an invoice, wire money to pay for it, and then we settle the transaction.”
Industry
Nowadays, “financial technology” is one of the terms most frequently used to describe research in the financial industry. The use of cutting-edge modern technology in the financial sector is known as fintech or financial technology. To supply financial services, it primarily uses innovative and disruptive technologies. Fintech businesses answered investors’ demand for more secure financial services by providing cutting-edge and secure financial services. The second driving force behind financial technology advancement may be the desire for more affordable financial services that provide accessibility and increased speed.
The market was worth USD 112.5 billion in 2021. The size of the worldwide fintech market is expected to reach USD 332.5 billion by 2028, and it is likely to develop at a rate of 19.8% CAGR during that time.
The market is primarily driven by increasing connectivity with the financial services sector ecosystem, increased market capitalization of cryptocurrencies, and initial coin offerings (ICOs). Quicker transfers are made possible by this technology, which also reduces operating costs. The biggest difficulty stifling the fintech market is uncertainty over the regulatory frameworks and standards enforced by the system. The usage of digital technologies in the financial sector is also growing significantly.
Mobile money, peer-to-peer or marketplace lending, insurance technology (insur-tech), robo-advice, and crypto-assets are just a few of the new financial technology developments that have emerged worldwide. As a result of these developments, markets may become more diverse, fair, efficient, and egalitarian, but concentration levels may also increase. Innovation has increased inclusion and sparked competition, particularly in developing and transitional nations.
Founders
Victor Faramond and Ivan Soto-Wright founded MoonPay in March 2019.
Victor Faramond
Victor is the chief technical officer and co-founder of MoonPay. Victor has a great deal of experience creating both the front-end and the back-end systems for cutting-edge websites. He has previously held positions with Apple, Merck KGaA, and Skello.
Ivan Soto-Wright
Co-founding MoonPay and serving as its CEO is Ivan. Ivan is an investor, a business owner, and a financial technology pioneer. Ivan received a bachelor’s degree in economics with special honours from George Washington University. He additionally pursued his interests in philosophy, politics, and economics at St. Anne’s College at Oxford. Previously, Ivan worked for Redington.
Startup Story
Ivan Soto-Wright and Victor Faramond, the company’s co-founders, set out in 2019 with just one goal in mind to create a straightforward and secure software solution that would enable users from all over the world to participate in the biggest digital revolution since the internet, which led to the establishment of MoonPay.
MoonPay concluded its Series A funding round in November 2021, just two and a half years later, with a valuation of $3.4 billion, making it the largest and highest valued Series A for a bootstrapped cryptocurrency firm. The company will use this funding to keep up its remarkable growth rate while investing in top talent and worldwide development.
Due to the recent all-time highs in the price of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, investment in the startups driving the sector is booming. Investors are looking for the next Coinbase after April’s successful IPO of the enormous bitcoin exchange.
Investors bought MoonPay because of its “gateway” to digital assets. This now includes bitcoin, ether, and other digital currencies like NFTs. But Soto-Wright wants to expand the platform’s application, from tokenized stocks to virtual clothes. He continued, “People are referring to them as PayPal for cryptocurrency.”
Soto-Wright claims that the company has effective controls and checks in place to thwart corruption. Because of the unlawful operations in the sector, regulators are being more careful.
MoonPay claims that since the platform’s launch in 2019, it has been profitable. Following a 35-fold increase in transaction volumes from 2020, the company is on track to make $150 million this year. Already, the service is used by more than 7 million people.
Vision and Mission Statement
The goal of MoonPay has always been to make bitcoin accessible to the following billion people.
MoonPay wants to make cryptocurrencies accessible to the following billion people since we think they will ultimately influence people’s lives more than the internet.
Everything they have done in their first- two years has been directed toward reaching that goal because they fully believe in the promise of cryptocurrencies and their capacity to democratize finance.
Business Model
A Miami-based business called MoonPay was established in 2019 and provides software that enables users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies using conventional payment methods like credit cards, bank transfers, or e-wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay.
It makes its technology available to businesses like the bitcoin website Bitcoin.com and non-fungible token (NFT) exchange OpenSea under a business model called “crypto-as-a-service,” according to CEO Ivan Soto-Wright.
MoonPay makes money through processing fees, payment fees, and a concierge service for wealthy clients.
Processing and Payment fees: Most of MoonPay’s revenue comes from processing and payment fees paid by institutional and retail clients. Every time a customer buys or sells a cryptocurrency, a processing fee is levied on them. For card purchases, there is a 4.5% fee. When using bank transfers, fees are 1% for both purchases and sales. Additionally, users are in charge of covering the associated gas costs levied by the blockchain network they utilize to complete their transactions.
Similarly, it rates businesses with a 4.5% card processing fee and a 1% bank transfer fee. However, tariffs for larger partners may be negotiated depending on a number of factors, such as daily transactions. Even though these fees might seem excessive, it is important to understand that MoonPay does not keep the entire price. The MasterCard or Visa card issuer must share the payment for credit card transactions. It also works with many custodians and fraud detection services, which have additional costs. Shakepay is only one of several similar services that have developed. They all promote themselves as easy solutions for common people to acquire cryptocurrency.
Concierge Service: Although this is probably a smaller amount of MoonPay’s overall revenue, MoonPay also profited from its wealthy clientele’s use of its custodial services. It will use this service to purchase and hold non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and cryptocurrencies on behalf of its clients. The company has provided this service to many famous people, including Jimmy Fallon, Lil Baby, Post Malone, and The Weeknd. Even though nothing is known, it can be assumed that MoonPay charges a percentage-based management fee for these services.
MoonPay – Catering Celebs
Celebrities have utilized MoonPay since November 2021 to purchase items from some of the most popular and expensive NFT collections. Jimmy Fallon, Post Malone, Diplo, DJ Khaled, and Justin Beiber are just a few of the growing list of celebrities who have used cryptocurrency company MoonPay to facilitate sales of exorbitantly expensive non-fungible tokens.
On December 22, 2021, rapper Snoop Dogg became the group’s newest member. He showcased four brand-new products from the Bored Ape Yacht Club range on Twitter. In a different tweet, he commended MoonPay and its CEO Ivan Soto-Wright for their support with the transaction. For Bored Apes, MoonPay has negotiated a sizable bulk of the NFT transactions on behalf of celebrities.
In addition to being a few of the more than 60 new investors in MoonPay, they are A-list celebrities. More well-known investors include The Chainsmokers, Drake, Matthew McConaughey, Eva Longoria, Kate Hudson, Paris Hilton, Jason Derulo, Mindy Kaling, Questlove, and Shawn Mendes.
Funding
MoonPay has received total funding of $642 million from investors in 3 rounds of funding.
Competitors
- Coinbase
- Wyre
- Ramp Instant
- Mercury.io.
- Simplex
- Transak
- Banxa
- Paywithmoon
- Changelly
- Ffnews
- Bitmart
Challenges Faced
Access to many currencies and custodial restrictions, regulatory and compliance restrictions, and fraud worries among traditional payment providers are some of the challenges. These are the issues MoonPay concentrates on and aids its partners in solving.
“We are thrilled about the possibility of cryptocurrencies, but providing the same frictionless experience that people have come to expect from contemporary internet goods is one of the barriers to widespread adoption. MoonPay has impressed us with its product, infrastructure, and execution.” — said Kris Fredrickson, Coatue’s managing partner.
“We believe that MoonPay is well-positioned to serve crypto-native innovators and those in traditional finance” and that the “crypto economy today is developing faster than the internet was at a similar point of its development.” — Kris Fredrickson, Coatue’s managing partner.
Thanks to MoonPay, anyone in the world can now participate in this new economy simply and securely. Beyond cryptocurrencies, MoonPay has been making progress with its non-fungible token solution in the NFT industry, which has recently seen amazing growth.
Future Plans
MoonPay plans to expand and create new products with the money it receives in the future. Soto-Wright claims that the business has already made plans to go public.
With the finance, employing more developers for its team, and getting ready to give its network more capabilities, Moonpay will start an expansion phase. The company’s primary focus is on providing consumers with various tools. To provide fiat on-ramping services, cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets must adhere to many regulations, such as Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering laws.
According to Moonpay, by providing a third-party solution, businesses can concentrate on their core competencies while the company takes care of KYC, payment processing, cryptocurrency liquidity and delivery, fraud protection, regulatory licensure, ecosystem identity verification, and customized checkout processes.
edited and proofread by nikita sharma
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