Crypto payments firm MoonPay has received its BitLicense from the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), a move that now allows the company to offer direct services to users across the entire United States.
With this regulatory clearance, MoonPay no longer has to rely on intermediaries for operations in New York, the final state it needed to complete full U.S. coverage.
BitLicense marks major compliance milestone for MoonPay
MoonPay becomes one of just 34 companies to secure the BitLicense since the NYDFS introduced the framework in 2015. The license is known for its stringent regulatory requirements and has long been considered a high bar for crypto companies.
In 2023, only two other firms, Anchorage Digital and Cumberland, were granted the license, making MoonPay’s inclusion notable.
Crypto legal expert James Murphy, known online as MetaLawMan, has previously said that several firms abandoned their BitLicense applications due to the complexity involved.
For MoonPay, though, the license caps off a broader push into the U.S. market. In addition to opening a headquarters in Manhattan’s SoHo district, the company acquired Iron and Helios to expand its fiat-to-crypto ramp infrastructure.
Coast-to-coast crypto services now live
With the BitLicense in place, MoonPay can now offer its full suite of services nationwide, including crypto purchases, sales, and wallet features like MoonPay Balance.
The company refers to this regulatory position as the “golden stack,” combining New York’s license with 46 other state money transmitter licenses.
MoonPay’s CEO Ivan Soto-Wright stated that the approval not only closes regulatory gaps but reinforces MoonPay’s ability to deliver compliant crypto services at scale.
Beyond the U.S., the firm has also secured crypto asset service provider status under the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) framework, and holds registrations in the U.K., Australia, Canada, and several European jurisdictions.
The milestone comes after what the company described as its strongest financial year to date, ending 2024 profitable and cash-flow positive. With its expanded regulatory footprint and operational reach, MoonPay now stands in a better position to scale digital asset access both at home and internationally.
