According to CoinDesk, MoonPay, a prominent crypto infrastructure service provider, has acquired Helio, a Solana-based crypto payment processor, in a deal reportedly valued at $175 million. This strategic acquisition aims to bolster MoonPay's trading and marketplace capabilities by leveraging Helio's advanced products. Ivan Soto-Wright, CEO and co-founder of MoonPay, emphasized the significance of this acquisition, stating that it marks a crucial step in realizing their vision for the future of payments. He highlighted that Helio's technology and expertise will enhance MoonPay's ability to offer efficient, secure, and scalable solutions for crypto commerce, trading infrastructure, and marketplaces.
Helio, a London-based startup established in 2022, facilitates businesses in processing payments through various digital currencies, including USDC, SOL, BTC, and ETH. Since its inception, Helio has processed transactions exceeding $1.5 billion and has integrated with major platforms such as Discord, WooCommerce, and Shopify. The company currently supports over 6,000 merchants and serves one million users. Meanwhile, MoonPay boasts a user base of over 20 million, as mentioned in the statement. This acquisition follows MoonPay's strategic partnership with PayPal in May, which enabled the use of PayPal accounts for buying and selling over 100 cryptocurrencies on MoonPay's platform. In October, PayPal further announced that eligible U.S. users could utilize Venmo to fund their MoonPay accounts.