The MoonPay announced on Wednesday (23) a definitive agreement to acquire North Capital Investment Technology, incorporating a regulated structure for brokerage, custody and trading of securities while expanding its operations beyond the bridge between traditional currencies and crypto assets. The completion of the transaction still depends on regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.
The financial terms were not disclosed by the companies. CoinDesk and Fortune reported, based on sources familiar with the transaction, that the deal will be paid in stock and is valued at more than US$ 60 million.
With the acquisition, MoonPay will control an infrastructure that covers different stages of the private securities market. North Capital offers technology for fundraising and asset management, as well as clearing, custody, escrow and secondary trading services.
Among the group's assets is PPEX, an alternative trading system, or ATS, registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Companies tied to North Capital also include broker-dealers, a transfer agent and an investment advisory firm registered with the U.S. regulator.
North Capital's platform has already processed more than US$ 8.7 billion in primary and secondary transactions. PPEX has more than 1,250 approved assets for trading in the secondary market, according to data released by the companies.
Regulated infrastructure expands MoonPay's reach
The deal adds to MoonPay the capabilities needed to handle tokenized securities without the company having to build the regulatory and operational structure for this market from scratch. This includes everything from investor onboarding and verification to custody and secondary trading of private assets, including securities represented by tokens.
Ivan Soto-Wright, founder and CEO of MoonPay, said the company seeks to build the regulatory foundation needed to expand the adoption of tokenized real-world assets, RWAs.
The purchase also expands the scope of a company better known for its infrastructure to convert traditional currencies into crypto assets. MoonPay now brings together payments and blockchain infrastructure with regulated activities tied to the issuance, distribution and trading of financial assets, bringing its platform closer to the onchain capital market.
The boards of directors of both companies unanimously approved the transaction. No date was announced for the completion, which remains subject to the required regulatory approvals.
