MoonPay Announces New York BitLicense Approval, Clearing Path for U.S.-Wide Crypto Services

Crypto payment platform MoonPay announced it secured both a BitLicense and a money transmitter license from the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), enabling it to operate in all 50 states.

Regulatory Milestone for Nationwide Access

The approval positions MoonPay among crypto payments firms authorized to conduct virtual currency activities in New York, a state known for its strict financial oversight.

This comes at a time when digital asset firms are racing to align with changing regulatory landscapes, particularly under Donald Trump’s administration's pro-crypto stance, which has been actively working on broader federal guidelines.

“With the approval of our New York BitLicense and Money Transmitter Licenses, MoonPay now holds the golden regulatory stack for crypto in the U.S., allowing us to directly serve customers in every single state without gaps in coverage,” commented co-founder and CEO Ivan Soto-Wright.

“As a U.S.-founded company with a headquarters in New York City, we’re immensely proud of this milestone and look forward to our continued work with regulators nationwide to make crypto accessible to everyone,” he shared.

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The regulatory win closely follows the opening of MoonPay’s new headquarters in New York City, now its largest U.S. office. The move reflects the company’s strategic investment in its domestic presence, aligning with its regulatory ambitions.

NYC Headquarters and Global Footprint

MoonPay has been on an expansion spree beyond U.S. borders as well. It holds registrations in the UK, Australia, Canada, Italy, Ireland, and Jersey, and was among the first firms to secure a crypto asset service provider license under the EU’s MiCA regulation last December.

The New York approval caps what MoonPay described as a record-breaking year in 2024, during which it became cash-flow positive and profitable. That financial turnaround bolsters its positioning as a maturing firm in a sector that continues to face scrutiny over sustainability and compliance .

Recently, Mastercard and MoonPay collaborated to support stablecoin payments across Mastercard’s network. According to the announcement, the companies plan to let businesses and consumers pay or receive payments using stablecoins.

The partnership involves Mastercard-branded cards that reportedly connect to users’ stablecoin wallets. At the point of sale, the stablecoins will be automatically converted to local currency, and payments are reportedly acceptable in over 150 million locations that support Mastercard worldwide.