MoonPay joins rarified list of dual Bitlicense and New York Trust Charter holders

Crypto payments firm MoonPay is now authorized to operate a trust company in New York, making it one of the few firms to receive both a New York Trust Charter and Bitlicense, alongside Coinbase, NYDIG, and Ripple, according to the firm. 

MoonPay’s limited-purpose charter will enable the firm to offer digital asset custody and over-the-counter trading services under the New York State Department of Financial Services’ (NYDFS) regulatory framework and potentially pave the way for compliant stablecoin issuance under the federal standards set by the GENIUS Act.

Perhaps most notably, the firm can now act as a fiduciary for clients in New York, “a key requirement for firms like banks or asset managers considering crypto exposure,” the firm noted. 

"Receiving our New York Trust Charter reflects our commitment to meeting the highest standards of compliance, security, and governance," said Ivan Soto-Wright, co-founder and CEO of MoonPay. "It enables us to deepen relationships with global financial institutions, expand our regulated service offerings, and continue bridging traditional and digital finance in a trusted way."

MoonPay has been working to build an international payments network linking banks, card systems, stablecoins, and blockchains under a unified regulatory framework covering key U.S. licenses and Europe's MiCA regime. 

Earlier this year, the firm received one of about three dozen Bitlicenses, shortly after it opened a new headquarters in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City. Even fewer firms hold both a Bitlicense and a New York Trust Charter.

It also began expanding its product suite through acquisitions of firms, including Solana-based payments firm Helio, stablecoin infrastructure firm Iron, and onchain payment tool Decent.xyz.

According to the statement, MoonPay serves over 30 million customers and provides infrastructure for nearly 500 companies.

MoonPay was one of the breakout companies of the pandemic-era bull run, having landed integrations with platforms like OpenSea and Bitcoin.com as well as celebrity endorsements from the likes of Paris Hilton, Jimmy Fallon, and former TIME President Keith Grossman, who became president of MoonPay. 

The firm was valued at $3.4 billion in its first-ever financing round in late 2021.