¶ MoonPay's Origin and Founders
Ivan Soter-Wright and Victor Faramund are the founders behind Moonpay , a remote-friendly crypto infrastructure company that's grown from a simple idea to a business valued at over $3.4 billion . Their story is a clear example of how location-independent businesses can scale fast in the digital economy , even when operating in one of the most volatile industries out there .
The starting point for MoonPay was a single , straightforward question what if buying cryptocurrency was as easy as using a credit card ? In 2019 , at a time when crypto markets had just taken a massive hit Bitcoin was down nearly 80% Ivan and Victor believed that crypto's long-term potential was far from over .
Instead of retreating like many others , at that moment , they saw an opportunity sitting right in front of them . The two founders brought very different but complementary skills to the table . Ivan , who became CEO , came from a background in fintech and entrepreneurship .
Before Moonpay , he'd built Saveable , a smart money app that helped people across Europe automate investments and manage their spending . That company was eventually acquired , and from there , ivan also went on to start a venture capital fund focused on crypto and emerging financial technology . Venture capital fund focused on crypto and emerging financial technology .
His academic background was a mix of economics and philosophy , studied on both sides of the Atlantic at George Washington University and later at Oxford . Victor , on the other hand , came with deep technical expertise . He worked as a software engineer at Apple and played a major role in the early development of a startup called Skello , an online scheduling software .
He brought extensive full-stack engineering experience paired with a strong academic foundation in mathematics and computer science from top European institutions . Their personalities balanced each other out .
Ivan has often been described as the big picture visionary , always looking at what's possible , while Victor brought a more grounded , pragmatic approach , keeping their engineering decisions tied to reality . That mix of idealism and realism became one of Moonpay's
¶ Building a Remote Crypto Infrastructure
strengths , especially as they navigated the uncertain world of crypto . They started small , with just five people making up the original team . Their minimum viable product went live first in Tokyo , which was a very deliberate early market test . From there they expanded globally .
The first product focused entirely on solving what's known as the on-ramp problem helping everyday users convert traditional fiat currencies into crypto quickly and securely . From day one , moonpay was adapted to run as a remote business and , while they officially list Miami as their headquarters , most of the team works on a distributed basis .
The company operates across multiple time zones , serving customers in more than 160 countries . That remote model allowed them to hire globally , without the restrictions of office locations or regional talent pools . It also meant they could develop , iterate and support customers around the clock , keeping the business moving even while some parts of the team were asleep .
The nature of their business building infrastructure for a decentralized financial system was perfectly aligned with building a decentralized organization . Their business model is simple at its core , but highly scalable .
¶ The Dual Business Model
Moonpay positions itself as the PayPal for crypto , offering the payment infrastructure that bridges traditional finance with cryptocurrency . Payment infrastructure that bridges traditional finance with cryptocurrency . Their platform serves two main groups individual consumers and business clients .
For individuals , moonpay offers an incredibly simple interface that allows users to purchase crypto with familiar payment methods Credit cards , debit cards , apple Pay , google Pay , paypal , even local bank transfers . What's important here is that Moonpay operates as a non-custodial platform , meaning they don't hold the customer's funds .
The user retains control over their assets , which aligns with the core values that underpin much of the crypto ecosystem . For businesses , moonpay offers embeddable infrastructure that allows any app or website to integrate crypto payments seamlessly . A few lines of code is all it takes for other companies to embed MoonPay's solution directly into their own platforms .
This model removes the headache of compliance , fraud protection and payment processing from the partners who adopt their solution . This dual business-to-consumer and business-to-business model helped Moonpay expand extremely quickly .
By 2023 , they were serving over 30 million users across more than 300 business platforms , with over $2 billion in transactions processed in their first two years alone . Today , they support over 80 different crypto assets and they continue to expand that offering . Naturally , building a crypto company comes with regulatory challenges .
Compliance with global anti-money laundering regulations is complex and constantly shifting is complex and constantly shifting . Moonpay made regulatory compliance a priority early on .
That upfront investment in security and compliance helped them build trust with both users and institutional partners , trust that's especially critical in the crypto space , where security breaches and regulatory uncertainty have derailed
¶ Funding and Rapid Expansion
many competitors . The fact that Moonpay launched right after a major crypto crash might seem like poor timing , but in some ways , it was exactly the opposite . Building infrastructure during a market downturn allowed them to grow quietly , focus on their product and be well positioned when crypto enthusiasm picked up .
The growth really took off after their Series A funding round in late 2021 . Moonpay raised $555 million in one of the largest Series A rounds ever for a crypto startup . That round was led by major investors like Tiger Global and KOTU Management , valuing the company at $3.4 billion . They added another $87 million shortly after in a Series A extension .
The funding allowed Moonpay to scale quickly . The team grew from around 130 employees to over 300 . At the time of this recording , they sit somewhere between 200 and 500 employees globally , still operating primarily as a remote organization . With the new capital , they began expanding their product suite beyond simple crypto on-ramps .
They moved deeper into Web3 infrastructure , including NFT payments and additional enterprise solutions . They also pursued strategic acquisitions , including discussions to acquire HelioPay , a crypto e-commerce platform , for roughly $150 million . Partnerships have also played a big role in MoonPay's expansion . They've worked with major brands like Fox , universal Pictures
¶ Key Success Factors
and even Snoop Dogg's Death Row Records to build NFT platforms , helping bring crypto and NFTs into mainstream media . These partnerships allowed MoonPay to move beyond the core crypto native audience and into wider consumer markets .
Today , their user base includes more than 30 million people across 160 countries , which is remarkable when you consider they started with just five people only a few years ago . Ivan and Victor's story stands out for a few reasons . First , their partnership shows the power of complementary skill sets .
Having a visionary founder balanced by a technically grounded co-founder creates strong decision-making dynamics . Second , their remote first model wasn't an afterthought or a pandemic pivot . It was intentional and it allowed them to recruit globally , scale rapidly and operate efficiently without being tied to any single geography .
This is something I strongly believe more founders can take advantage of today . Third , they solved a real problem . Buying crypto used to be complicated . Moonpay simplified the process for both consumers and businesses , removing friction that kept many potential users on the sidelines . Fourth , they didn't let market timing scare them off .
Launching during a downturn gave them breathing room to build and by the time crypto interest returned , they were already positioned and ready to capture and ride that wave . And finally , they built multiple revenue streams early , both B2C and B2B , which allowed them to scale faster and build resilience into the business
¶ Episode Closing
model . That's it for today's episode . Please consider subscribing to the show , leaving a review , or share it with someone . Building their own location independent venture .