MoonPay insiders pocketed $150 million weeks before CEO bought $38 million mansion: The Information

MoonPay insiders including co-founder and CEO Ivan Soto-Wright received $150 million during the crypto payment startup's Series A raise in late November 2021, according to report from The Information, which cited an unnamed source.

During the 2021 Series A, MoonPay announced it had raised $555 million at a valuation of $3.4 billion with investors including Tiger Global Management and Coatue Management participating. But some of the money, rather than going to the company, was instead used to buy shares from existing shareholders like Soto-Wright.

"MoonPay raised $405 million by selling shares to investors, and the remaining $150 million represented shares cashed out by insiders in a secondary transaction," according to an anonymous source cited by The Information. Those insiders included Soto-Wright, according to the report.

MoonPay confirmed the Series A funding round included secondary sales, something that was not previously made public, according to the report. The company didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from The Block.

A few weeks after the Series A funding round, Soto-Wright purchased a $38 million mansion in Miami, a residence he's used to host swanky parties like the one held during last year's Art Basel art festival.