MoonPay is acquiring North Capital, a Utah-based brokerage operating behind the scenes in private stock transactions since 1999. Rather than seeking proprietary technology, the target is the collection of U.S. securities licenses that MoonPay has previously relied on external partners to access.
Financial details of the transaction were kept private. The acquisition, which was made public on Wednesday, remains subject to regulatory approval prior to completion.
MoonPay’s Push to Tokenization
Just last week, MoonPay launched access for its 35 million customer base to a tokenized Treasury fund created by WisdomTree. However, the terms revealed a key limitation: WisdomTree Securities acted as the broker because MoonPay lacked an in-house U.S. broker-dealer.
North Capital resolves this deficiency comprehensively. The firm holds two SEC-registered broker-dealers, an investment adviser, a registered transfer agent, and PPEX, which is an alternative trading system dedicated to private securities featuring upwards of 1,250 approved assets. Altogether, its infrastructure has facilitated $8.7 billion in primary capital raises and secondary market transactions.
This is fundamentally about foundational infrastructure rather than consumer-facing items. Procedures like investor verification, escrow, clearing, and maintaining shareholder records represent the necessary, operational requirements for legally selling tokenized shares to U.S. residents. Acquiring these capabilities is far faster than building and applying for each permit individually.
“All financial markets are becoming more technology-driven, but the infrastructure supporting them is still fragmented across different tech stacks, providers, and workflows,” Ivan Soto-Wright, CEO of MoonPay, said in the release
What the Deal Means for Users
This buyout aligns with a broader strategy. MoonPay reportedly spent $100 million in stock to acquire Solana router DFlow in May, marking its sixth acquisition since the beginning of 2025. Soto-Wright describes MoonPay’s vision around funding, trading, spending, and tokenizing assets, with North Capital serving as the designated layer for tokenizing and trading regulated securities.
For customers, the differentiation is significant. Many tokenized equities currently found on cryptocurrency platforms operate as synthetic trackers, and an SEC-proposed exemption could allow them to trade without granting voting rights or dividend payouts. By incorporating a transfer agent, MoonPay gains the ability to provide genuine securities where investors are officially recorded on the issuer’s ledger.
This disparity is most pronounced within private markets, where pre-IPO token offerings marketed to everyday retail investors typically fail to grant any actual ownership stake. The systems built by North Capital accommodate Reg CF and Reg A+ exemptions—regulatory pathways permitting non-accredited investors to purchase private shares—though Reg D offerings will remain restricted exclusively to accredited participants.
Ultimately, the key uncertainty lies in user demand. Private securities experience low trading liquidity, and a base of 35 million cryptocurrency traders does not automatically translate into active private-market participants. Whether MoonPay can successfully convert its new compliance framework into transactional volume will be measured through PPEX metrics rather than corporate announcements.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What company is MoonPay buying? MoonPay is purchasing North Capital, a Utah-based broker that has managed private stock transactions since 1999.
- Why is MoonPay acquiring North Capital? The acquisition provides MoonPay with essential U.S. securities licenses, including two SEC-registered broker-dealers, a registered transfer agent, an investment adviser, and the PPEX alternative trading system.
- What are the financial terms of the deal? The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, and the deal still requires regulatory sign-off.
- How does this impact MoonPay users? The acquisition allows MoonPay to offer genuine securities backed by a transfer agent, rather than just synthetic trackers lacking voting rights or dividends, especially across certain private market exemptions.
- How many deals has MoonPay made recently? The North Capital purchase follows six previous deals made by MoonPay since early 2025, including a reported $100 million stock acquisition of Solana router DFlow in May.
