MoonPay secures New York trust charter, expands regulated services

Crypto payments giant MoonPay is about to flex even harder in New York — the state's financial watchdog just handed them a trust charter, letting them dive deep into crypto custody and OTC trading. This is HUGE for regulated services expansion.

MoonPay CEO Ivan Soto-Wright dropped the truth bomb: this approval means they can 'deepen relationships with global financial institutions' and scale up their already-regulated offerings. Remember, these guys already snagged a BitLicense back in June — making them one of the elite few with BOTH licenses.

MoonPay isn't alone in this double-license flex — Ripple Labs, Coinbase, and NYDIG are also rocking both. And get this: Coinbase and Ripple are already chasing federal trust charters with the OCC, though the banking regulator hasn't made a call yet.

Since the GENIUS Act hit the books in July (that's the stablecoin framework law, for those keeping score), crypto players have been rushing into stablecoins. MoonPay already launched an initiative on Nov 13 letting issuers create and distribute their own stablecoins — even though the law isn't technically live yet.

Traditional finance is catching the stablecoin fever too — Visa expanded stablecoin offerings on its settlement platform in July, and Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan is reportedly considering creating a stablecoin with other financial heavyweights.