Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, plans to invest an undisclosed amount in the MoonPay cryptocurrency, Bloomberg claims.
MoonPay is nearing completion of funding and is seeking a $5 billion valuation. A person familiar with the round reportedly said the talks were private, which is why he did not want his name published.
This shows how ICE continues to expand further into the cryptocurrency space as political support for the industry increases under President Donald Trump's administration.
Wall Street has been vocal about digital assets this year. Back in October, ICE agreed to invest up to $2 billion in Polymarket, a blockchain-based prediction market platform that allows people to bet on real-world events.
MoonPay expands operations and staffing while promoting funding
MoonPay started in 2019 and built software that allows users to move between regular money and cryptocurrencies without stress.
The company's last funding round took place at the end of 2021, when the bull market was still strong, and the round valued the company at $3.4 billion. MoonPay has moved quickly this year, investing money to acquire at least four startups to expand its stablecoin business.
All of this happened as Congress passed a new stablecoin bill in July, opening the door to broader use of dollar-pegged tokens across the country.
The company also announced major hiring on Wednesday. Caroline Pham, acting chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, will join MoonPay as chief legal officer. MoonPay said in an X statement that Pham will “lead the next chapter of growth and compliance excellence after he concludes his role as acting chairman.”
She was temporarily selected by President Trump to chair the CFTC in January. The company said her new job comes as it continues to build tools that allow users to convert U.S. dollars and other currencies into digital assets.
When asked about Pham's next steps, a CFTC spokesperson echoed his previous statements and said he intended to return to the private sector if confirmed as permanent chair.
President Trump has nominated Michael Selig for the role, but the Senate has not yet voted. Lawmakers could vote Thursday before leaving Washington for vacation.
Crypto sector attracts new capital as companies seek transparency from Washington
Since Pham became acting chairman, the CFTC has seen increased activity in prediction markets, taken steps to bring offshore crypto companies back to the United States, and even carried out what it calls an “enforcement sprint” on companies the CFTC has in its sights.
Cryptocurrency and blockchain companies have already raised about $19 billion in 2025, the highest amount since 2022, according to PitchBook figures.
Ripple also raised $500 million at a valuation of $40 billion in early November. Investors included funds associated with Fortress Investment Group and Citadel Securities.
Ripple President Monica Long said the company is seeing strong demand for stablecoin payments, adding, “Given this momentum, the whole industry is really open to and narrowing their eyes on stablecoin payments. This has always been at the heart of our strategy,” adding that Ripple has doubled its customer base in this space quarter-over-quarter.
Ripple wants to be an infrastructure partner for institutions moving to cryptocurrencies. Interest from these companies has increased during the Trump administration's second term as regulation shrinks and the White House pivots to support digital assets.
Trump has already signed the first federal regulations on stablecoins. Companies like Coinbase and Ripple are currently finding ways to establish themselves as the leading crypto-native partners of financial institutions entering the market.
