MoonPay is betting that institutions want broader access to on-chain financial products beyond just crypto purchases.
The crypto payments company announced Thursday that it has launched MoonPay Trade, a platform designed to connect banks, fintechs and enterprises to tokenized assets, decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols and stable liquidity across more than 200 blockchains through a single integration.
The service is backed by Decent.xyz, which cross-chain routing startup MoonPay acquired for a “high eight-figure” sum, a person familiar with the matter said.
This expansion comes as tokenization gains momentum in the financial sector, attracting global banks and asset managers. Real-world tokenized assets – blockchain-based versions of stocks, bonds and funds – now exceed $33 billion in market value, tripling in a year, according to data from RWA.xyz. The Boston Consulting Group predicts that the market could reach $18.9 trillion by 2033.
Large asset managers, including BlackRock, Franklin Templeton and JPMorgan, have already introduced tokenized funds on public blockchains, while stablecoins increasingly serve as settlement rails for payments and trading activities.
MoonPay Trade will serve as the execution arm for MoonPay Institutional, the company’s business focused on regulated financial companies and led by former Acting CFTC Chair Caroline Pham.
“Every major financial institution is developing a tokenized asset strategy,” Pham said in a statement, adding that the platform gives institutions access to on-chain markets “in a compliant manner.”
MoonPay Trade supports tokenized fund subscriptions, collateral transfers, and integrations with DeFi lending protocols such as Morpho, Aave, and Maple Finance. These protocols allow users to earn yield or borrow against digital assets directly on the blockchain.
The company has embarked on an acquisition spree as it moves from crypto payments to broader financial infrastructure.
Earlier this month, the company acquired Solana commerce infrastructure provider DFlow, which processed more than $12 billion in transaction volume in the first quarter. This year it also bought security startup Sodot, following last year’s acquisitions of payment processors Meso and Helio.
