MoonPay, a crypto payments company, has agreed to acquire North Capital, a private-markets infrastructure provider, in an all-stock transaction valued at more than $60 million. The acquisition enables MoonPay to expand into the issuance, custody, and secondary trading of private securities, including tokenized real-world assets (RWAs). This move marks a strategic shift as MoonPay builds out services for regulated US securities infrastructure.
North Capital operates broker-dealers, an alternative trading system (ATS), a transfer agent, and an investment adviser, all registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm has supported over $8.7 billion in primary and secondary transaction volume. Upon closing, North Capital will become a wholly owned subsidiary of MoonPay, subject to regulatory approvals. This purchase follows earlier acquisitions by MoonPay this year, including Sodot, DFlow, and Entendre, which added capabilities in institutional custody, onchain trading, and financial operations. MoonPay is currently valued at $3.4 billion according to Traxcn data.
The acquisition signals MoonPay’s intent to bridge the gap between crypto-native payment rails and traditional capital markets infrastructure. By integrating North Capital’s SEC-registered entities, MoonPay gains immediate access to regulated channels for private securities and tokenized RWAs. This vertical integration allows the company to offer end-to-end services from fiat on-ramps to compliant asset custody and trading, positioning it as a comprehensive financial infrastructure provider rather than just a payments gateway.
From a market structure perspective, this consolidation highlights the growing convergence of digital asset technology with legacy financial compliance frameworks. The ability to handle tokenized securities through established broker-dealer and ATS structures reduces operational risk for institutional clients seeking exposure to RWAs. However, the success of this strategy depends on navigating complex regulatory approvals and effectively merging distinct corporate cultures. Investors should monitor how quickly MoonPay can leverage North Capital’s existing $8.7 billion transaction volume history to attract new institutional flows into its broader ecosystem.
