MoonPay Eyes $150M Acquisition of Crypto Payment Platform Helio Pay: Report

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Ruholamin Haqshanas

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Ruholamin Haqshanas

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Ruholamin Haqshanas is a contributing crypto writer for CryptoNews. He is a crypto and finance journalist with over four years of experience. Ruholamin has been featured in several high-profile crypto...

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December 24, 2024

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Crypto payments giant MoonPay is reportedly in talks to acquire Helio Pay, a cryptocurrency e-commerce platform, in a deal worth approximately $150 million.

If finalized, this would mark MoonPay’s largest acquisition to date, according to FOX journalist Eleanor Terrett.

MoonPay, often dubbed the “PayPal for crypto,” provides a wide range of crypto payment solutions. The acquisition of Helio Pay would significantly enhance its merchant services.

Helio Enables Merchants to Receive Payments in Bitcoin

Helio, a self-service platform similar to Coinbase Commerce, enables over 6,000 merchants and content creators to receive payments in Bitcoin, Ethereum, stablecoins like USD Coin, and hundreds of other cryptocurrencies.

One of Helio’s standout features is its integration with Solana Pay on Shopify, an e-commerce platform with more than 138 million monthly users.

The partnership underscores the potential synergy between Helio and MoonPay in expanding their market reach and user engagement.

MoonPay’s existing user base spans over 20 million users across 160 countries, and the addition of Helio’s services could further strengthen its foothold in the crypto payments sector.

The company has recently rolled out several initiatives, including MoonPay Balance, a fiat-to-crypto on-ramp solution, launched in November across 27 countries.

Despite its rapid global expansion, MoonPay has yet to penetrate key markets such as the United States and Germany.

Meanwhile, its integration of fiat PayPal on-ramps in the European Union, the UK, and the US earlier this year has bolstered its accessibility.

As reported, users in 24 EU member states and the UK can now buy cryptocurrency using their PayPal account thanks to the MoonPay integration.

Founded in 2018 by Victor Faramond and Ivan Soto-Wright, MoonPay aims to simplify the adoption of digital assets.

MoonPay Expands Operations with More Partnerships

In October last year, MoonPay announced a partnership with Mastercard to advance Web3 integrations, build connections, and boost marketing tools.

That same month, it unveiled its new Swaps feature in the app, which enables users to swap one cryptocurrency for another.

Then, in November, amid increased regulatory scrutiny, MoonPay appointed Mike Lempres, a former executive from Coinbase and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), to its board of directors.

In May this year, the company donated $1 million to the digital advocacy group Stand With Crypto ahead of the 2024 US elections.

Meanwhile, MoonPay saw significant investor support in November 2021 when it raised $555 million in a Series A funding round led by Tiger Global Management and Coatue, with a valuation of $3.4 billion.

As for PayPal, at the end of May, it said it’s expanding PYUSD to the Solana blockchain.

It was also revealed that the stablecoin includes a feature called “confidential transfers” to provide privacy for users and transparency for regulators.