MoonPay to Acquire North Capital for Over $60 Million in All-Stock Deal
Crypto payments firm moves into regulated securities
MoonPay has agreed to acquire North Capital Investment Technology, a private-markets infrastructure company, in an all-stock deal worth more than $60 million, according to sources familiar with the matter who spoke to CoinDesk. The transaction is still subject to regulatory approval and other closing conditions.
Once the deal closes, North Capital will become a wholly owned subsidiary of MoonPay. The acquisition would bring North Capital's registered broker-dealer, investment advisory, and transfer-agent businesses into MoonPay's corporate group, along with PPEX, an alternative trading system for private and exempt securities.
Key numbers behind the deal
- Deal value: more than $60 million, paid in MoonPay stock (per sources to CoinDesk)
- North Capital platform has supported more than $8.7 billion in primary and secondary transaction volume
- PPEX lists more than 1,250 approved assets for secondary-market trading
- North Capital is registered with FINRA under CRD number 154559 and SEC number 8-68648
What North Capital brings to MoonPay
North Capital's affiliates operate SEC-registered, FINRA-member broker-dealers, an SEC-registered investment adviser, and a transfer agent. The company handles investor onboarding, transaction processing, subscription escrow, custody, and secondary-market services.
Its subsidiary North Capital Private Securities runs PPEX, an alternative trading system that handles private and exempt securities, including digital asset securities. An alternative trading system is a regulated venue that matches trades outside of a traditional stock exchange.
Why the timing connects to the SEC's new tokenization relief
The acquisition comes shortly after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission opened a conditional pathway for onchain stock trading. On September 17, 2026, the SEC granted temporary relief allowing Tokenized Securities Venues, known as TSVs, to trade tokenized National Market System stocks through permissioned automated market makers and liquidity pools without registering as national securities exchanges. A tokenized stock is a digital version of a traditional share that lives on a blockchain.
The relief comes with conditions, including limits on which stock symbols can be traded and on trading volume. Token holders must receive the same rights as holders of the equivalent conventional stock. Smart contracts used in the process must be public and auditable, and trading halts must be coordinated with traditional markets. If a third party tokenizes the stock, the TSV must notify the issuer and give it a chance to object before listing the token.
MoonPay CEO Ivan Soto-Wright said the company is "building the regulatory foundation to support mass adoption of tokenized real-world assets."
A recent WisdomTree partnership
The acquisition also follows a separate tokenization arrangement announced the same day as the SEC relief. On September 17, WisdomTree said it was building an access point for the WTGXX tokenized money-market fund using MoonPay's technology and platform. MoonPay stated it was not acting as a broker-dealer or investment adviser for that fund. A tokenized money-market fund is a digital version of a fund that holds short-term debt instruments and is recorded on a blockchain.
What is confirmed and what remains unclear
The $60 million-plus deal value was reported by sources speaking to CoinDesk and has not been publicly confirmed by MoonPay. The source notes that North Capital's PPEX is described by the company as a venue for private and exempt securities, while the SEC's new Innovation Exemption applies to tokenized National Market System stocks and sets separate conditions for TSVs. The article highlights this difference but does not explain how the two frameworks will interact under MoonPay's ownership.
What happens next
The transaction's next stated step is obtaining the required regulatory approvals and satisfying or waiving the other closing conditions. No closing date has been announced.
Sources
Newisty Editorial Team covers technology, cryptocurrency, digital products, online platforms, developer tools and the wider digital economy. Our content is researched from official sources, company announcements, public documentation, market data and other primary or reputable sources. Articles are reviewed and edited before publication for clarity, accuracy and useful context.