Dozens of VIP backers invest $87M into crypto payment startup MoonPay

In November 2021, MoonPay announced a $555 million Series A financing round that brought the crypto payment platform’s valuation to $3.4 billion. On Wednesday, the fintech company revealed that $87 million of the total $555 million came collectively from more than 60 public figures and celebrities in the music, sports, media and entertainment industries. 

While the Series A round was led by firms like Tiger Global Management and Coatue with participation from Blossom Capital, Thrive Capital, Paradigm and NEA, the following household names are also considered strategic investors: Gwyneth Paltrow, Maria Sharapova, Eva Longoria, Gal Gadot, Matthew McConaughey and Bruce Willis. Other “industry VIPs” like Ashton Kutcher, Justin Bieber, Snoop Dogg, Paris Hilton and Steve Aoki are all already deeply involved within the crypto and nonfungible token (NFT) space. 

Related: Snoop Dogg may be the face of Web3 and NFTs, but what does that mean for the industry?

The company shared that this funding and the continued support from investors will enable it to accelerate its international expansion, grow the team and bring in new partners. MoonPay’s longterm mission is to increase cryptocurrency access to the next 1 billion people by 2030.

MoonPay is best known for letting users purchase cryptocurrencies and NFTs with a credit or debit card, bank transfers or mobile wallets on Apple Pay and Google Pay. The investments have allowed the fintech startup to develop new products like NFT Checkout and MoonPay Concierge, a referral-based service for high-net-worth individuals that purchases crypto and NFTs on their behalf for a fee. For example, when actress Gwyneth Paltrow wanted a Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT she went to MoonPay and then thanked the company via Twitter.

Paltrow, who is also the co-founder of Kinship Ventures, said in a statement that “Web3 is inspiring the entertainment industry, and commerce in general, to reimagine the way we create community, connect with fans, build value and manage intellectual property.”

Rapper Post Malone even promoted MoonPay in his music video for “One Right Now” with The Weeknd by purchasing a BAYC NFT via the app onscreen. In addition to the music video, Malone recorded his purchase of two Bored Apes for a combined 160 Ether (ETH), worth roughly $682,000, in TikTok videos sponsored by MoonPay.

Apart from actors and artists, athletes like Paul George, a seven-time NBA All Star and Olympic Gold Medalist, recognized that “Crypto and NFTs will be key to maximizing the business of professional sports as we look ahead.”

Related: High-profile athletes are spending huge amounts on NFTs: Here’s why

When asked how MoonPay plans to onboard the world to Web3, MoonPay’s head of communications Justin Hamilton told Cointelegraph that the company is “Laser-focused on helping foster a healthy ecosystem of partners with reliable payment infrastructure.” He added that the best way to foster adoption is by “Empowering creators to own their IP and have greater control on their creative output and financial support.” 

So far, 10 million customers across 160 countries have processed close to $3 billion in transactions via MoonPay through more than 250 partner sites, including Bitcoin.com and OpenSea, according to the company. 

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