MoonPay has announced its intention to acquire North Capital, a private investment platform registered with the SEC, in a deal valued at over $60 million, which will be executed entirely in stock.
This acquisition aims to enhance MoonPay’s efforts in advancing the adoption of tokenized real-world assets, according to CEO Ivan Soto-Wright.
Based in Salt Lake City, Utah, North Capital facilitates around $9 billion in transaction volume across primary and secondary markets. Following the completion of this acquisition, which is pending regulatory approval, North Capital will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of MoonPay.
CEO Ivan Soto-Wright emphasized that this move is crucial for building a regulatory framework that supports widespread adoption of tokenized assets. He stated, "We believe bringing those capabilities into the MoonPay ecosystem can help connect different parts of the financial system through modern, programmable infrastructure."
North Capital specializes in providing the technology necessary for the tokenization of securities, catering to private securities issuers and fund managers. Their services include capital raising, asset management, clearing, custody, and secondary trading.
Furthermore, North Capital's affiliates possess essential broker-dealer, trading, transfer, and investment advisory registrations with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Recently, MoonPay has broadened its scope beyond cryptocurrency payments, launching its Trade platform to link banks and fintechs with tokenized assets, decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, and stablecoin liquidity.
This acquisition is part of a series of strategic purchases made by MoonPay this year, which also includes acquiring Solana-based trading infrastructure provider DFlow and the Israeli crypto security firm Sodot in a $100 million stock deal.
Tokenization involves creating digital tokens that represent real-world assets such as equities, bonds, and commodities, enabling them to be traded on blockchain platforms. This practice has emerged as a significant use case for blockchain technology within traditional financial institutions, with forecasts suggesting it could evolve into a multi-trillion dollar industry over the coming years.
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