MoonPay is a cryptocurrency payment provider looking to develop a one-stop shop for brands to tap into online currencies and adjacent technologies, like collectible tokens and metaverse activations.
To do so, it has bought out Web3 agency Nightshift who, as part of the deal, will rebrand to the new name Otherlife, and the agency will retain its roster of brand clients, which has included Adobe, Shopify and Arsenal F.C., in addition to serving more of MoonPay’s existing customers.
MoonPay, which provides crypto payment services and nonfungible token (NFT) infrastructure to brands like Nike, Universal and Fox, said the acquisition will further its mission to make a new ownership-based iteration of the internet, or Web3, more accessible to brand clients and, in turn, consumers. The companies declined to share the exact financial terms of the purchase.
It marks a brave moment for Moonpay as a flux in the cryptocurrency space and dips in the NFT market have made some major brands wary about entering the Web3 space after companies had previously scrambled to get on board. Nevertheless MoonPay enterprise president Keith Grossman, who left his role as president of Time magazine to join the company last month, told AdWeek that there’s still plenty of interest in using the technology for business cases like loyalty programs and intellectual property supplements, if not the more speculative side of the space.
Founded in 2018, MoonPay has raised around $642 million to date, according to the data hub Crunchbase. The company previously unveiled an NFT platform called HyperMint in June of last year with brands like Universal Pictures and Fox Corporation signed on as launch partners. The startup has also worked with Nike to power its virtual shoe marketplace and created a Halloween Horror Nights NFT scavenger hunt with Universal Parks and Resorts.
With its track record of guiding brands through Web3 strategies and marketing activations, Nightshift’s purchase is meant to guide users with questions of strategy. Nightshift CEO Michael Perrow, who co-founded the company along with executive creative director Michael Moodie, said MoonPay’s infrastructure will also help the agency offer more concrete tech options to the brands it advises.
