MoonPay, a fiat-to-crypto on-ramp provider, has acquired Helio, a blockchain-based payment processor built on Solana, in a $175 million deal to expand its payments infrastructure.
Helio, known for its crypto checkout platform, enables businesses to accept payments in digital assets, such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Solana’s SOL (SOL) and USD Coin (USDC).
According to a press release, the acquisition expands MoonpPay’s infrastructure by incorporating Helio’s technology to improve the efficiency of crypto payments for merchants and marketplaces.
The deal is expected to expand MoonPay’s trading and marketplace volume.
Acquisition implications
Helio is widely used for e-commerce, digital goods and subscription services, supports over 6,000 merchants and has a transaction history exceeding $1.5 billion.
Already integrated with popular platforms like Discord, Shopify and WooCommerce, Helio’s acquisition by MoonPay will enable the on-ramp provider to provide a more comprehensive payment solution for merchants, developers and consumers, according to the announcement.
In the release, Stijn Paumen, co-founder and CEO of Helio, said that “Helio was founded to make crypto payments accessible,” adding that the firm had reached “millions of customers” via merchants in three years.
Post-acquisition, Paumen said that MoonPay can now replace “slow, costly merchant payments with fast, affordable and decentralized solutions.”
Source: MoonPay
Related: MoonPay boosts self-custodial crypto spending with new solution
MoonPay MiCA approval
MoonPay reported in a Dec. 30, 2024, notice that it had been approved to operate as a licensed crypto business in the Netherlands under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) bill.
In the notice, MoonPay said that the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (DAFM) had issued the crypto firm the license per the MiCA regulatory framework.
Ivan Soto-Wright, co-founder and CEO of MoonPay, called the approval a “pivotal step in solidifying the crypto industry’s role in the global economy.”
An anticipated acquisition
In November 2024, MoonPay introduced its new payment tool, MoonPay Balance, enabling users to store and spend fiat balances on MoonPay and use it as a gateway for decentralized finance interactions.
In December 2024, MoonPay reportedly considered the Helio Pay acquisition for about $150 million — $25 million less than the present deal.
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