MoonPay has signed a definitive merger agreement to acquire North Capital Investment Technology, the crypto payments firm announced on September 23, folding a U.S.-registered securities brokerage and advisory business into its financial infrastructure platform. The transaction will make the Salt Lake City-based North Capital a wholly owned subsidiary of MoonPay once it closes, and is aimed squarely at moving tokenized securities and other exempt assets onchain.
What North Capital brings
North Capital runs an API-first private-markets infrastructure platform used by private securities issuers, professional intermediaries, fund managers and investors. It supports capital raising, asset management, clearing, custody and secondary trading for exempt securities, including tokenized securities. The company’s platform has handled more than $8.7 billion in primary and secondary transaction volume, and its PPEX alternative trading system lists more than 1,250 approved assets for secondary-market trading. North Capital Private Securities Corporation and North Capital Agency Brokerage are broker-dealers registered with the SEC and members of FINRA and SIPC.
A regulated route into tokenized markets
The deal adds a stack of U.S. securities registrations to MoonPay’s platform, including an SEC-registered alternative trading system, a transfer agent and an investment adviser. For MoonPay, founded in 2019 and known for crypto payments, the acquisition signals a push into regulated capital markets. The firm now serves more than 35 million customers across 180 countries and more than 1,500 enterprise clients, and the move extends work such as its tokenized-fund partnership with WisdomTree.
Leadership on the rationale
“All financial markets are becoming more technology-driven, but the infrastructure supporting them is still fragmented across different tech stacks, providers, and workflows,” said Ivan Soto-Wright, MoonPay’s chief executive and founder. “This is especially true in securities markets, where North Capital has developed a differentiated combination of technology, regulatory capabilities and market infrastructure.” North Capital founder and chief executive James P. Dowd said the tie-up advances the firm’s mission to bring “access, liquidity and transparency to private markets.”
What happens next
Both companies’ boards have unanimously approved the transaction, but closing still depends on regulatory approvals and other customary conditions. The acquisition follows a wave of similar deals to bring securities onchain, including Ondo Finance’s acquisition of Oasis Pro, as crypto firms race to secure the broker-dealer licenses that tokenized securities demand.
