During this bull run we have seen cryptocurrency start-ups raise record funding this year. Blockchain start-ups raised a record $4.4 billion in the second quarter despite the slump in crypto prices.
MoonPay is taking the crypto mania in venture capital to new heights. At only three years old the company said it has raised $550 million in its first ever financing round. For traditional assets that's crazy and for crypto that's still very impressive. The investment was led by Tiger Global and Coatue which now values MoonPay at $3.4 billion!
MoonPay lets users buy and sell cryptocurrencies using conventional payment methods like credit cards, bank transfers or mobile wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay. They also sell their tech to other businesses and NFT marketplace. They are trying to position themselves as the 'PayPal' of the crypto world which is a tough task since PayPal is already in the space. MoonPay's advantage is they offer a gateway to digital assets that's simple and more inclusive than their competition. They are also saying they have strong controls and checks in place to tackle money laundering which in recent times has become more scrutinized by regulators.
On the financial side, MoonPay says it has been profitable since launching its platform in 2019 and is on track to hit $150 million in annual revenue. They are also saying they have more than 7 million customers. Since raising the money, MoonPay plans to develop new products and has ambitions to take the business public. This type of funding and business is pretty common and I'll be interested to see how quickly they plan to IPO because that's a very lucrative action for the employees of the company. My guess is they will try to get this done before we see another bear market which could be Q1 or Q2 of 2022. We will have to wait and see how this all play out.