Thanks, Gwyneth! MoonPay rides celebrity interest to $3.4 billion valuation

Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

MoonPay, the company that lets consumers pay for digital assets with credit cards, has raised $8 million from a who's who list of celebrities. The new round of investment is intended to help propel the company towards its goal of being the PayPal of cryptocurrencies. The company says that the new investment brings MoonPay's valuation to $3.4 billion.

MoonPay has a concierge service. MoonPay streamlined the process of buying an ape. Stars who want a Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT will often go to MoonPay, and then thank the company in their social media posts. It's not just stars. Light Speed Venture Partners is a MoonPay client. The company says that 10 million customers have used the infrastructure service. The company works with more than 260 service providers and partners with exchanges such as FTX and OpenSea.

After a period of interest in NFTs, PayPal wasn't building itself during a time when it was needed the most. NFTs appeal to artists and musicians because of their ability to create revenue through digital assets. When it was time to raise money, it seemed natural to target VC firms that specialized in the creator economy.

The previous funding round brought in a firm founded by the brother and husband of Karlie Kloss. The latest round has Sound Ventures, founded by the two men, as well as Madonna's manager, Oseary. Kinship Venture brought Questlove, and other people with them. The partnership with New ENTERPRISE ASSOCIATES joined as well.

Thanks so much Ivan for helping me navigate my first purchase! @moonpay

— Eva Longoria Baston (@EvaLongoria) January 10, 2022

The networks of celebrities were brought to the area by these investors. They asked him questions about the basics, such as what Web3 was, what NFTs were, and how to set up wallet. They were walked through setting up wallet, writing down seed phrases and connecting them to OpenSea.

Soto-Wright's famous friends helped popularize the company, but that's not the only reason they're involved. A number of household names have used MoonPay to buy Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs before their investment in MoonPay itself. BAYC owners own intellectual property associated with their ape and that project was popular with celebrities. The reason BAYC weed exists is because of those intellectual property rights.

It was easy for celebrities to buy apes. Buying enough ether to make a purchase isn't a trivial process because apes can be expensive. MoonPay buys the digital asset needed for the NFT and then invoices the customer. It usually involves a wire transfer rather than a credit card since it is much more money.

The client names a budget. MoonPay uses tools to calculate how much an asset is worth. Sometimes celebrities just buy things because they like them and pay what they think is appropriate, which can be more than the asking price.

The Web3 world is about making money. It makes sense that people who make money through intellectual property would become Web3 adopters. According to data from NonFungible, the market for NFTs has fallen since January. Just because something is popular with celebrities doesn't mean it's here to stay.