MoonPay Expands Institutional Reach with $100 Million Acquisition of Sodot

MoonPay is pivoting toward the enterprise sector with the acquisition of Sodot, an Israeli-based crypto security firm. The transaction, valued at approximately $100 million in stock, serves as the foundation for 'MoonPay Institutional,' a dedicated unit designed for large financial institutions seeking secure access to digital assets. The move signals MoonPay's ambition to transition from a retail-focused payment gateway to a comprehensive infrastructure provider for the traditional financial world. By integrating Sodot's specialized security layers, MoonPay intends to bridge the gap between legacy finance and decentralized assets through a professional-grade service suite. The new institutional arm will offer a range of tools, including wallet management, trading capabilities, and the issuance of stablecoins. Central to this offering is Sodot's self-hosted multi-party computation (MPC) infrastructure, which allows institutions to maintain strict control over asset movement, transfer approvals, and automated transaction handling. Leading the initiative is Caroline D. Pham, the former acting chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Pham, who joined MoonPay as chief legal and administrative officer in December, brings significant regulatory expertise to the firm's institutional push. This acquisition follows a series of strategic expansions, including the previous purchase of the stablecoin platform Iron and the checkout firm Helio. With a global user base of nearly 30 million and partnerships with 500 firms, MoonPay is leveraging its retail scale to capture a larger share of the institutional market.