NYSE Owner ICE Mulls Stake In MoonPay At $5B Valuation

New York Inventory Change (NYSE) proprietor Intercontinental Change (ICE) is eyeing a stake within the crypto agency MoonPay at a valuation of about $5 billion.

In response to a Dec. 18 Bloomberg report that cited sources acquainted with the matter, ICE’s potential funding within the agency comes as MoonPay nears the completion of its newest funding spherical. 

MoonPay Has Embarked On An Growth Spree This 12 months

MoonPay was based in 2019 and gives software program that helps customers change extra simply between crypto and fiat currencies. Its final funding spherical at a valuation of $3.4 billion was in the direction of the top of 2021, proper across the peak of a bull marketplace for the crypto area on the time.

MoonPay’s newest share sale comes after the corporate engaged in an growth push this 12 months, which noticed the agency purchase not less than 4 startups earlier than launching a stablecoin enterprise. This adopted the passing of the GENIUS Act by the US Congress and President Trump’s transfer to signal the invoice into legislation, paving the way in which for the broader use of stablecoins. 

Along with the acquisitions, growth, and newest funding spherical, MoonPay has additionally introduced this week that Caroline Pham, the Appearing Chair on the US Commodity Futures Buying and selling Fee (CFTC), will be part of the agency after Mike Selig is sworn in because the company’s new chief.

I’m trying ahead to a profitable affirmation of Mike Selig because the @CFTC’s subsequent chairman and a clean transition as soon as he’s sworn in. The long run is shiny. Onward and upward 🚀

— Caroline D. Pham (@CarolineDPham) December 17, 2025

ICE Increasing Into Crypto Markets

ICE’s reported curiosity in MoonPay shouldn’t be the NYSE proprietor’s first transfer into the crypto area. Earlier this 12 months, the inventory alternate proprietor introduced that it made a strategic funding into the decentralized prediction markets platform Polymarket.

Underneath the phrases of the settlement, ICE will make investments as much as $2 billion within the firm. This capital injection valued Polymarket at roughly $8 billion pre-investment. It additionally positions ICE as a significant institutional backer of what was beforehand a largely crypto-native market. 

Platforms like Polymarket give customers the flexibility to guess on the outcomes of a wide range of real-world occasions. These occasions span politics, sports activities, and extra. 

Polymarket dwelling display screen (Supply: Polymarket)

ICE stated that its funding is geared toward integrating Polymarket’s event-driven chance knowledge into conventional finance workflows. As such, the deal will see ICE develop into a worldwide distributor of Polymarket’s knowledge to institutional traders. 

The 2 firms additionally plan to collaborate on future tokenization initiatives. 

2025 Has Been A Huge 12 months For Crypto Offers And VC Funding

This 12 months has seen a number of giant offers introduced by crypto companies and has additionally been a robust 12 months by way of enterprise capital (VC) funding. 

To this point, crypto and blockchain companies have raised nearly $19 billion in VC funding. That is essentially the most since 2022, in line with knowledge from PitchBook.

Ripple managed to lift $500 million from traders in November in a spherical that included funds affiliated with Fortress Funding Group and Citadel Securities. This increase was achieved at a valuation of $40 billion. 

On the acquisition entrance, Ripple has made a number of strategic buys. Its purchases included prime brokerage and treasury administration companies. In the meantime, US crypto alternate Coinbase has led the cost as the corporate goals to create a crypto “all the things app.” 

That’s seemingly because of the friendlier regulatory local weather across the digital asset area within the US, as President Trump works in the direction of making the US the world’s crypto capital. 

Since getting into the White Home for a second time period, Trump has positioned pro-crypto leaders at key businesses such because the Securities and Change Fee (SEC), the Workplace of Comptroller of the Foreign money (OCC), and the US Treasury. 

Yesterday, the Senate authorized Trump’s picks for the Commodity Futures Buying and selling Fee (CFTC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance coverage Company (FDIC) as nicely. 

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