MoonPay CEO, Other Executives Cashed Out Before Crypto Business Dropped
MoonPay’s CEO and other senior executives cashed out at the peak of the crypto startup investing frenzy. MoonPay’s crypto payments business has slumped since then.
In November 2021, just as crypto prices were hitting all-time highs, MoonPay—a crypto payments startup that celebrities including Jimmy Fallon and Paris Hilton had praised for its non-fungible token “concierge” service—announced it had completed its first ever outside fundraising: an eye-popping $555 million round at a $3.4 billion valuation from investors including Tiger Global Management and Coatue Management. There was more to the deal than met the eye.
MoonPay raised $405 million by selling shares to investors, and the remaining $150 million represented shares cashed out by insiders in a secondary transaction, meaning that money didn’t flow into the company’s coffers, according to a person familiar with the matter. The shareholders who sold included co-founder and CEO Ivan Soto-Wright, the person said.