Crypto payments firm MoonPay expands its footprint in the stablecoin sector with the acquisition of Iron

The deal will allow MoonPay’s enterprise clients to accept stablecoin payments instantly and at low cost. It also enables businesses to manage treasuries in real time and invest stablecoin holdings in yield-bearing assets like U.S. Treasury bonds.

Crypto payments firm MoonPay is expanding its footprint in the stablecoin sector with the acquisition of Iron, a developer focused on stablecoin infrastructure, the company announced Monday.

The deal will allow MoonPay’s enterprise clients to accept stablecoin payments instantly and at low cost. It also enables businesses to manage treasuries in real time and invest stablecoin holdings in yield-bearing assets like U.S. Treasury bonds.

“We’re putting instant, programmable payments in the hands of enterprises, fintechs, and global merchants with deep liquidity and the best possible rates, all powered by Iron’s technology,” said MoonPay CEO Ivan Soto-Wright.

This marks MoonPay’s second major acquisition of the year. In January, it bought Helio, a Solana-based blockchain payment processor, for $175 million. Helio’s integrations with Shopify and Discord strengthened MoonPay’s position in crypto payments.

Stablecoins remain a key growth area in blockchain, with more than $230 billion in circulation. Adoption has been driven by fintech giants like PayPal and Stripe, which integrated stablecoin transactions.

MoonPay made headlines last month after loans from Galaxy and Ripple helped the firm manage the overwhelming demand for Donald Trump’s official memecoin.

The token saw its market capitalization soar from $200 million at issuance to over $10 billion in just 48 hours, generating more than $20 billion in trading volume.

The surge in demand came on a Saturday, leaving MoonPay unable to access over $100 million in liquidity due to banking closures over the weekend and a public holiday on Monday for Trump’s swearing-in. With no immediate access to fiat reserves, MoonPay sought emergency loans to maintain liquidity and meet trading demand.

MoonPay executives initially turned to Galaxy Digital’s Mike Novogratz for a $100 million loan in USD Coin (USDC). The deal was secured quickly after vetting with a BlackRock executive, where MoonPay held its reserves.

As trading volume continued to rise, MoonPay faced another liquidity gap. The launch of Melania Trump’s memecoin, MELANIA, further increased demand, requiring an additional $60 million.

Grossman reached out to Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, admitting they had “underestimated the demand” for the Trump token. Ripple agreed to provide the funds, but only after MoonPay’s leadership pledged personal assets and proved there were no liens on its reserve capital.

MoonPay fully repaid both loans on January 21, the first business day after the long weekend, after regaining access to its reserves. That same week, the company onboarded 750,000 new users amid the surge in interest following Trump’s entry into the memecoin market.