Key Notes
- MoonPay is now holding the BitLicense from the NYDFS.
- Robinhood, PayPal, Coinbase, and Circle also hold related licenses.
- The firm has continued to print new partnerships that may soar with the BitLicense.
Popular crypto money transmitter and infrastructure firm MoonPay has secured the acclaimed New York BitLicense. This BitLicense and money transmitter licenses ensure the firm has legal backing to provide its services in the region.
The Sacred BitLicense Hall of Fame
As crypto Journalist Eleanor Terrett reported, the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) handed over the licenses. Notably, this will enable MoonPay to serve customers directly in all 50 states.
🚨SCOOP: @moonpay Secures Coveted New York BitLicense
PLUS, Congress holds hearings on the updated crypto market structure bill today, and a look at this week’s top headlines. ⬇️ https://t.co/Ew6AKe3B6e
— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) June 4, 2025
This marks a major milestone for the company, as it now ranks amongst a short list of top BitLicense holders. Other names on the list include Robinhood, PayPal, Coinbase, and Circle.
This big Moonpay win is more significant considering that the NYDFS is regarded as the most rigorous state regulator in the United States. The entire licensing process is not just tough, it provides a high bar for compliance, cybersecurity, and financial controls. As a result, BitLicense has emerged as one of the toughest regulatory approvals for crypto firms.
BitLicense is a business license for virtual currency activities issued by the NYDFS under special regulations designed for companies. Its regulatory functions with New York include cryptocurrency transmission, exchange service provision, and digital asset management. It is worth acknowledging that the Stablecoin issuer Circle was the firm that received the first BitLicense.
In 2019, the NYDFS approved the application submitted by San Francisco-based SoFi to obtain a BitLicense. As of early December 2024, the NYDFS had only handed out BitLicenses to 25 crypto entities. This included entities like Coinbase, Gemini, and Bittrex, with the others rejected based on insufficient security and legality.
Anchorage Digital, a leading crypto custodian, secured the BitLicense for its subsidiary, Anchorage Digital NY, LLC, in 2024. The lìcense, which the NYDFS granted on Nov. 16, 2024, allowed the firm to offer regulated crypto services to institutional clients throughout New York State but did not become fully operational until early 2025.
At the end of the year, only Anchorage Digital and Cumberland received the sacred license. This matched the total from 2023, when eToro and Coin Cafe received the same approval.
Other MoonPay Licences and Partnerships
Before bagging the strict BitLicense, MoonPay had its tentacles in other regions. Almost six months ago, the prominent US-headquartered blockchain payment company officially secured an operational license to enter the Dutch market under the European Union’s groundbreaking Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation.
This was just a few days before the full implementation of the MiCA regulatory framework.
MoonPay also has approvals from several other countries, including Liechtenstein, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland, where it holds a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license. Ivan Soto-Wright, the co-founder and CEO of MoonPay, noted that the license reflects the company’s commitment to regulatory compliance.
In terms of partnerships and mergers, MoonPay acquired Helio at the beginning of this year. Helio is a blockchain-based payment processor built on the Solana network to enhance digital asset payments. The deal was worth $175 million at the time.
With the BitLicense, more deals may be registered with MoonPay as its trust outlook is now higher.
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