Moonpay: how to onboard billions of people into crypto (w/ I. Soto-Wright)

Host Mo Sayed on The Ledger Podcast discusses crypto accessibility and mass adoption with Moonpay, a payment infrastructure. Moonpay, likened to “PayPal for crypto,” simplifies on/off-ramps, now integrated into Ledger Live for secure Web3 access. 

Sayed, joined by Moonpay co-founder Ivan Soto-Wright and Ledger’s Jean-François Roche, emphasizes the importance of accessibility and security, kicking off season 2, to onboard the next billion crypto users.

“We think crypto is the biggest thing since the internet (but) crypto is about making the exchange of value easier for anyone anywhere in the world. The internet was around making the exchange of information easier”. – Ivan Soto-Wright

Key Highlights:

Moonpay’s Foundation: Bridging to the New Financial Reality

Believing that more and more value is going to be moving over this new language called the blockchain, Moonpay’s job is to build the backwards compatibility to the existing financial system. 

This begins with ubiquitous payment methods like debit and credit cards because there’s billions of people that have these cards in their pockets, and extends to turning on local payment methods for every single country. 

The goal is to continue to build out this connectivity and do it in a way that converts and is as intuitive as possible for end users.

Ledger Live Integration: Convenience within the Cycle of Trust

Jean-François Roche highlights how Moonpay’s integration into Ledger Live enhances user convenience and trust, building on the security offered by the Ledger Nano. 

He praises Moonpay’s global accessibility and seamless connection to the Ledger Nano X despite underlying complexity. 

Ivan Soto-Wright adds that Moonpay and Ledger share values, particularly in promoting financial access through crypto’s ability to allow self-custody of private keys, with Ledger leading in cold storage.

NFTs as the “Trojan Horse” for Cultural Adoption

Mo Sayed and Ivan Soto-Wright see NFTs as a “trojan horse” for mass crypto adoption, noting their surging search volume and cultural impact, especially with the metaverse concept and Facebook’s Meta rebrand. 

While traditional crypto payments haven’t taken off, NFTs’ cultural ties are key. They believe artists, musicians, athletes, and entertainers will embrace NFTs for economic incentives, making them the gateway to blockchain transactions. 

Moonpay has already onboarded major cultural figures into NFTs.

Moonpay’s NFT Checkout: Abstracting Complexity for Users

Moonpay launched the world’s first credit card NFT checkout to improve conversion for first-time NFT buyers. 

Recognizing the complexity of traditional NFT acquisition, Moonpay’s solution simplifies the process by allowing users to purchase NFTs directly with a credit card, bypassing banks that are reluctant to process crypto purchases. 

Moonpay handles the backend crypto transactions, providing a seamless Web2 experience on the front and with a Web3 backend.

Self-Custody and Digital Sovereignty: The Core Ethos

JF acknowledges that self-custody is intimidating to newcomers, with 80 percent of the world’s crypto custodied on exchanges. 

He stresses that crypto’s promise lies in self-custody, not a centralized “village of crypto” that mirrors Web2’s risks of data confiscation. 

He connects this to art, NFTs, gaming, and communities where financial freedom is difficult. He cites the disappearance of cash in Scandinavia and Kenya as evidence that the crypto revolution is on and is happening in the same way, and that it will happen very fast. 

Mo defines Moonpay’s role as the bridge between the traditional finance and the decentralized realms of web3.

“Trusting yourself in many countries around the world it’s not an option it’s the only thing you can do, making self-custody obvious for people”. – Ivan Soto-Wright

Challenges of Being a Bridge: Regulation, KYC, and Fraud

Moonpay navigates global regulatory complexities by implementing mandatory KYC for all users, improving conversion and lifetime value. Governments prioritize consumer protection, tax collection, and combating financial crime. 

Moonpay’s Kaizen philosophy drives continuous improvement. Despite high-risk payments, Moonpay simplifies complexity for customers. They address fraud and chargebacks (including “friendly fraud”) by leveraging data to improve models and onboard more legitimate users.

Onboarding a Billion People: Distribution and Geographic Expansion

Ivan outlines Moonpay’s strategy to onboard a billion people onto crypto by 2030. It hinges on understanding distribution points.

1. Core Infrastructure (Payment Methods): Tapping into existing networks like Visa, Mastercard and then expanding country by country to include local payment methods. He uses the 80/20 rule to prioritize efforts.
2. Interaction Points (Web3 Ecosystem): Being present where people want to interact with crypto, including cryptocurrency devicess like Ledger, NFT marketplaces like OpenSea, and DeFi platforms like Uniswap. The goal is to be close to the ground and constantly watching where people are going; to know how they want to interact with crypto and interact with web3, and make sure that Moonpay is there to help them.

Ivan expresses particular interest in Africa and Latin America. 

He highlights Moonpay’s investment in Yellow Card, a successful exchange in Africa, noting the reality of remittances and people in countries like Nigeria being very passionate about using Bitcoin as a means to store their wealth. 

In Latin America, countries have faced hyperinflation, making them quick to adopt crypto. He cites Kenya’s M-Pesa as an example of leapfrogging traditional banking due to security issues and lack of infrastructure. 

Mo aptly summarizes this as “banking the unbanked”.

Key Insights on the Future:

Ivan Soto-Wright

Ivan foresees a future where all fiat currency is converted to crypto, aligning with his mission to democratize access to value and empower individuals to control their financial futures. He believes crypto will create a fairer financial system. His primary concern is security, particularly the responsibility of private key ownership and the need for improved user experience around recovery. He also fears bad actors and a lack of education, emphasizing the industry’s duty to educate users for a safer experience.

Jean-François Roche

JF envisions an unstoppable shift to crypto, turning all fiat into digital currency, crucial for countries like Argentina and Turkey. He stresses self-custody as vital for digital sovereignty, enabling control over one’s destiny, money, art, and culture. Despite requiring effort, he believes self-custody is worth it to counter forces that encourage relinquishing personal control.

Watch the full Episode below:

Reading List

Learn more about these topics mentioned in the episode, or explore our library of articles on Crypto, Security, and Regulation on Ledger Academy

• Moonpay x Ledger Live
• On-Ramps/Off-Ramps
• Web3
• Self-Custody