Bloomberg reported that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (ICE), the owner of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), is in talks to invest in cryptocurrency payments firm MoonPay as part of a new funding round.
The round could value MoonPay at approximately $5 billion, a significant increase from its previous $3.4 billion valuation in 2021.
Talks are described as advanced but private, and the deal is not yet finalized—it could fall through or change terms.
This potential investment aligns with ICE’s broader push into digital assets, following moves like its up-to-$2 billion commitment to Polymarket earlier in 2025 and ownership of the Bakkt crypto platform.
MoonPay has strengthened its position with: Regulatory approvals in New York including a Limited Purpose Trust Charter alongside its BitLicense. Expansion into custody services and stablecoins. High-profile hires, such as former acting CFTC chair Caroline Pham joining as chief legal officer.
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This reflects growing bridges between traditional finance— Wall Street and the crypto sector amid a more favorable regulatory environment. While the deal is not finalized and could change or fall through,
ICE’s involvement would link Wall Street’s institutional network directly to MoonPay’s fiat-to-crypto on/off-ramps, making it easier for institutions and retail users to enter crypto. This could lower barriers and embed crypto payments into broader financial ecosystems, including potential integrations with NYSE-linked services.
Faster global reach for stablecoins and payments, positioning crypto as a viable alternative in commerce. A $5 billion valuation represents a ~47% increase from MoonPay’s 2021 peak of $3.4 billion, serving as a strong signal of recovery and maturity post-2022 downturn.
Backing from a legacy giant like ICE which also owns Bakkt and recently committed up to $2 billion to Polymarket indicates that mainstream finance views regulated crypto infrastructure as a legitimate, long-term asset class.
This could encourage more venture capital inflows—crypto funding has already hit nearly $19 billion in 2025—and stabilize valuations across the industry. Its builds on its crypto push— Bakkt custody, Polymarket bet, stablecoin explorations with Circle’s USDC, diversifying beyond traditional exchanges into payments, tokenization, and on-chain infrastructure.
Its aligns with trends like asset tokenization like DTCC’s tokenized settlements and a more pro-crypto U.S. regulatory and political environment under the Trump administration. This positions ICE to capture value in emerging areas like regulated custody, stablecoins, and cross-border efficiency.
MoonPay’s recent New York regulatory wins make it an attractive, compliant partner. The investment would fuel expansions in custody, stablecoins, and acquisitions, evolving MoonPay from a simple on-ramp to a full-service institutional gateway comparable to Coinbase or PayPal in regulatory standing.
It einforces the shift toward “regulated” crypto growth, reducing risks from past volatility and scandals. No immediate direct price impact on crypto markets noted, but it contributes to positive sentiment amid Wall Street’s increasing exposure.
This could pave the way for more hybrid products blending tradfi and crypto, such as tokenized assets or integrated clearing services. This potential deal highlights a maturing crypto industry where bridges between Wall Street and blockchain are forming rapidly, driven by regulatory progress and institutional interest. If completed, it would mark another milestone in crypto’s integration into global finance.
Uniswap’s UNIfication Proposal is Live on Uniswap Governance Portal
The on-chain governance vote for Uniswap’s “UNIfication” proposal—including activation of the long-awaited fee switch—is Live.
The proposal was submitted on-chain on, and voting officially starts today with some sources noting ~10:30 PM EST on December 19, effectively beginning late today. It runs until December 25, 2025. If passed after a 2-day timelock: 100 million UNI tokens burned immediately from the treasury a retroactive adjustment for missed fees since launch.
Fee switch activated on Uniswap v2 and v3 pools on Ethereum mainnet, with protocol fees routed to buy and burn UNI making the token deflationary and tied to protocol revenue. Unichain sequencer fees also used to burn UNI.
Uniswap Labs formally aligns with governance via a legally binding agreement under Wyoming’s DUNA law. This marks a major shift for UNI, turning it from a pure governance token into one with direct value accrual through burns linked to trading volume.
The proposal passed earlier off-chain Snapshot votes with strong support >63M UNI in favor. This has generated significant buzz in the community, with many viewing it as a bullish catalyst for $UNI.
100 million UNI ~10-16% of circulating supply, worth ~$500-800M at recent prices burned retroactively from the treasury. Ongoing protocol fees from v2/v3 on Ethereum mainnet and Unichain sequencer revenue routed to buy and burn UNI, creating a deflationary mechanism tied to trading volume.
UNI evolves from a pure governance token to one with “cash flow” characteristics—estimated 2.5-3% annual implied yield via supply reduction under moderate growth. At current run-rates ~$1B+ annualized fees in 2025, this could generate hundreds of millions in annual burns.
UNI has already rallied significantly on anticipation 40-70% pumps post-initial proposal. Passage could sustain momentum, positioning UNI as a top “fundamentals” play in DeFi. Fee switch diverts a portion of fees to the protocol, v2: LP fees drop from 0.30% to 0.25%, protocol takes 0.05%; v3: 1/6 to 1/4 of LP fees.
This taxes LPs, potentially leading to liquidity migration to competitors like Aerodrome on Base, Curve offering higher yields. Cleaner ecosystem eliminates many scam/honeypot pools which rely on zero protocol fees, improving overall quality and reducing rug risks.
Minimal direct impact fees mostly unchanged, but potential higher slippage if liquidity fragments. Long-term, more efficient routing via v4 hooks, UniswapX could benefit users. It merges Uniswap Foundation into Labs, eliminates Labs’ interface/API fees set to 0%, and funds growth via treasury 20M UNI/year budget.
Labs binds legally to governance via Wyoming DUNA framework, reducing misalignment risks. Gradual rollout starting Ethereum mainnet, expanding to L2s/v4 minimizes disruption. Could solidify Uniswap as the “default DEX” with deeper liquidity and innovations like MEV capture, aggregator hooks.
It sets a model for protocol revenue sharing via burns, encouraging similar moves elsewhere while addressing past criticisms of “untapped” value ~$4T+ lifetime volume without holder accrual. If LPs migrate en masse, short-term volume/TVL drop possible some analysts predict significant Base volume is “scammy” and will vanish.
Ties revenue directly to holders; could attract SEC attention though resolved prior issues. Phased approach and governance flexibility adjustable fee tiers mitigate risks, but competition remains fierce.
This is widely viewed as a net positive catalyst for UNI and DeFi maturation—turning Uniswap into a revenue-generating, deflationary asset while unifying operations.
Market sentiment is overwhelmingly bullish, with passage expected to drive further upside. Track the vote on Uniswap governance portal for real-time updates.