MoonPay, the company best known for letting retail users buy crypto with a credit card, is now taking aim at institutions. This week it launched MoonPay Trade, a platform that packs execution, settlement, and liquidity into a single API. The service spans 200 blockchains, a breadth that most competitors don't match.
A single API for 200 chains
MoonPay Trade is designed for institutional clients who need to move in and out of positions without bouncing between multiple providers. The API handles execution and settlement on one end, while connecting to liquidity sources on the other. MoonPay says the platform works across 200 blockchains — from major networks like Ethereum and Solana to smaller chains that institutions might otherwise struggle to access.
Why the move matters
MoonPay has been a retail-first company since its founding, processing payments for individual buyers. But the institutional side of crypto has been growing fast, and MoonPay wants a piece of it. MoonPay Trade is the clearest sign yet that the company is building out a full suite for professional traders, hedge funds, and crypto-native businesses. The timing makes sense: as more traditional finance firms dabble in digital assets, they want simple, reliable ways to trade across chains — not a mess of separate accounts and APIs.
What’s under the hood
The platform handles the messy parts of onchain trading — gas fees, network congestion, token approvals — behind the scenes. Clients get a single endpoint for orders and settlements, with MoonPay managing the rest. The company hasn't said which liquidity providers it uses, but it claims deep pools across the supported chains. For institutions, that's the selling point: one integration, broad coverage, fewer operational headaches.
What comes next
MoonPay is expected to roll out more institutional features throughout 2026, though the company hasn't given a timeline. The launch puts it in direct competition with firms like Copper and Fireblocks, which also offer multi-chain custody and trading tools. For now, MoonPay is betting that its experience in consumer payments — and its existing relationships with exchanges and wallets — will give it an edge in winning over institutional clients.
