MoonPay, the leading global crypto payments infrastructure provider has today announced it has received an investment of $87M from more than 60 influential figures and organizations from the worlds of music, sports, media & entertainment. The celebrity investors’ contribution is to a previously announced $555M funding round led by Tiger Global and Coatue, with participation from Blossom Capital, Thrive Capital, Paradigm, and NEA that values MoonPay at $3.4B.
Other feature celebrities include Drake, Post Malone, Gal Gadot, Paris Hilton, Matthew McConaughey, James Corden, the Chainsmokers and Shawn Mendes, among others. The large turn up in artists represents the industry’s transformation by Web3 technology, which is changing the way artists, creatives, and athletes are approaching art, fan engagement, and intellectual property management.
“Web3 is inspiring the entertainment industry, and commerce in general, to reimagine the way we create communities, connect with fans, build value and manage intellectual property. We are excited to invest in MoonPay because we believe their technology is best positioned to make participating in cryptocurrency more accessible,” said Gwyneth Paltrow, Co-Founder of Kinship Ventures.
Web3 and the revolution in entertainment
Web3 is radically changing our approach to the business of music, sports and entertainment. Producers, as well as labels, are already using smart contracts and blockchain technology to assert their creative intellectual property rights. Musicians and creators are using this technology to expand their reach while connecting more deeply with their fans.
Moreover, major global sports franchises make use of digital tokens and NFT collectables in an effort to transform fan engagement, business operations, and team strategy. Crypto and NFTs have consequently helped maximise the business of professional sports.
With consumers seeking new ways to consume entertainment and engage with their favourite creators, Web3 is enabling creators to own and share their creative output. MoonPay aims to help power the change, by lowering the barriers of entry to the crypto economy.
MoonPay to the Moon
Founded in 2018, by Ivan Soto-Wright and Victor Faramond, the Miami-based company acts as a sort of PayPal for the crypto economy, enabling transactions between individuals and crypto firms. The platform allows users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies via conventional payment methods like credit cards, bank transfers or mobile wallets, the likes of Apple Pay and Google Pay.
MoonPay quickly rose to be the world’s leading global crypto payments infrastructure provider. Top NFT marketplaces worldwide are providing their users with a simpler way to trade their NFTs using MoonPay’s industry-first NFT Checkout solution. Their checkout allows the purchase of NFTs instantly with a credit or debit card.
By providing the easy-to-use experience consumers have come to expect from traditional e-commerce to Web3, MoonPay has gathered 10M customers across 160 countries, processing close to $3B in transactions on the MoonPay platform through 250+ partner sites, including Bitcoin.com and OpenSea.
MoonPay aspires to go public in the future, according to its CEO Ivan Soto-Wright.
