MoonPay announced that it has received a Limited Purpose Trust Charter from the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), enabling the company to offer regulated cryptocurrency custody and over-the-counter (OTC) trading services in New York State including New York City.
This approval positions MoonPay as one of the few crypto firms holding both a BitLicense which it obtained in 2023 and this trust charter, joining elite players like Coinbase, PayPal, and Ripple.
The charter authorizes MoonPay Trust Company, LLC, to act as a fiduciary for digital assets, providing secure custody solutions and OTC trading for institutional clients while complying with NYDFS’s stringent standards.
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This expands MoonPay’s institutional offerings, bridging traditional finance and crypto by enhancing compliant infrastructure for high-volume trades and asset storage.
MoonPay, a fiat-to-crypto on-ramp provider, has been building its regulatory footprint; this move follows similar approvals for competitors and aims to attract more enterprise users amid growing demand for regulated services.
Implications for Institutional Investors
MoonPay’s acquisition of a Limited Purpose Trust Charter, marks a pivotal advancement in regulated crypto infrastructure, particularly for institutional players navigating the intersection of traditional finance and digital assets.
This charter, combined with MoonPay’s existing BitLicense, empowers the firm to operate as a fiduciary for digital assets, offering secure custody and over-the-counter (OTC) trading services under one of the world’s strictest regulatory regimes.
For institutions—such as hedge funds, banks, and asset managers—this development lowers barriers to entry, enhances risk management, and accelerates crypto integration into portfolios.
The NYDFS charter provides “gold standard” oversight, aligning MoonPay with peers like Coinbase and Fidelity, which reassures risk-averse investors by ensuring adherence to fiduciary duties, anti-money laundering (AML) protocols, and capital requirements.
This dual-licensing status (BitLicense + Trust Charter) positions MoonPay as a “bridge” between legacy finance and crypto, potentially unlocking billions in institutional capital by mitigating compliance risks.
Early adopters could see reduced due diligence costs and faster onboarding for U.S.-based operations.
The charter authorizes MoonPay Trust Company, LLC, to hold and safeguard digital assets as a fiduciary, enabling institutions to store large volumes of crypto (e.g., BTC, ETH, stablecoins) without self-custody complexities or third-party vulnerabilities.
For institutions managing high-net-worth clients or enterprise treasuries, this means access to “institutional-grade” custody that supports segregated accounts, insurance coverage, and real-time reporting—critical for audit trails and portfolio diversification.
Posts on X highlight this as “opening floodgates” for Wall Street, transforming crypto from a speculative play to reliable infrastructure. OTC services allow large trades off public exchanges, minimizing slippage and market impact—essential for institutions avoiding volatility exposure during execution.
This expands MoonPay’s fiat-to-crypto on-ramps into full-suite trading, integrating seamlessly with traditional payment rails like Apple Pay and Mastercard. Institutions can now execute high-volume strategies with lower fees and faster settlement, potentially boosting DeFi yields or hedging activities.
The approval paves the way for stablecoin custody, settlement, and even issuance under frameworks like GENIUS, enabling institutions to deploy yield-bearing stable assets or tokenized treasuries in regulated environments.
It supports Web3 entry for enterprises and brands via NFTs or payments, fostering partnerships that could drive network effects in the BTC/ETH ecosystems. Analysts view this as a “bullish signal” for institutional inflows, with MoonPay’s 30M+ user base and 500+ partners amplifying distribution.
While overwhelmingly positive, institutions should note increased competition in NY’s regulated space, which could pressure fees downward but raise interoperability questions across custodians.
This charter signals maturing infrastructure, potentially accelerating crypto’s allocation in multi-asset portfolios from 1-2% to 5-10% over the next 12-18 months, per industry benchmarks.