MoonPay has unveiled MoonPay Trade, a new platform aimed at providing banks, fintech companies, and enterprises with streamlined access to tokenized assets and decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols. This initiative allows users to connect with stablecoin liquidity across over 200 blockchains through a single integration.
The launch is supported by the acquisition of Decent.xyz, a startup specializing in cross-chain routing, for a significant sum described as a “high eight-figure” amount. This move underscores MoonPay’s strategy to broaden its offerings beyond basic cryptocurrency transactions.
The tokenization trend is rapidly gaining traction in the financial sector, with the market for tokenized real-world assets, including stocks and bonds, surpassing $33 billion—tripling in value over the past year, according to data from RWA.xyz. The Boston Consulting Group has projected that this market could balloon to $18.9 trillion by 2033.
Major asset management firms such as BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, and JPMorgan have begun to introduce tokenized funds on public blockchains, while stablecoins are increasingly being utilized as settlement mechanisms for various financial activities.
MoonPay Trade will function as the execution component of MoonPay Institutional, which is tailored for regulated financial entities and is led by Caroline Pham, the former acting chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Pham noted, “Every major financial institution is building a tokenized asset strategy,” emphasizing that the new platform provides compliant access to on-chain markets.
The platform supports a range of functionalities, including tokenized fund subscriptions, collateral transfers, and integrations with DeFi lending protocols like Morpho, Aave, and Maple Finance. These protocols enable users to earn yield or borrow against digital assets directly on blockchain networks.
MoonPay’s expansion into broader financial infrastructure follows a series of acquisitions. Earlier this month, the company acquired DFlow, a provider of trading infrastructure for Solana, which processed over $12 billion in trading volume in the first quarter of this year. Additionally, MoonPay has secured other firms, including security startup Sodot and payments processors Meso and Helio.
As part of its initial offerings, MoonPay Trade will also provide perpetual futures on real-world assets such as oil, silver, copper, and gold.
In related news, Variational, an on-chain derivatives trading protocol, recently raised $50 million in a funding round led by Dragonfly, with participation from Bain Capital Crypto and Coinbase Ventures. The funding will be used to enhance its derivatives trading services, including an expanded range of perpetual futures linked to real-world assets.
MoonPay has launched its MoonPay Trade platform, enabling financial institutions to access a variety of tokenized assets and DeFi protocols. This move comes as the market for tokenized real-world assets continues to grow rapidly, attracting significant interest from major financial players.