Crypto Startup MoonPay is valued at $3.4 billion, as Bitcoin Rush reaches new heights.

Crypto startups  raised record funding this year. So, it's no surprise that some giants in the universe, from the Winklevoss Gemini virtual currency exchange  to  Joseph Lubin, co-founder of ConsenSys blockchain startup Ethereum, announced major new funding deals  last week. A relative newcomer,

MoonPay is taking  venture capital cryptomania to the next level. The three-year-old fintech firm said Monday it had raised $555 million in its first funding round.  Tiger Global and Coatue's investment valued the company at $3.4 billion.

Founded in 2018, Miamib-based MoonPay software allows you to buy and sell cryptocurrencies using common payment methods such as credit cards, bank transfers, or mobile wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay. Also sells  technology to other businesses, including crypto site Bitcoin.com and essential token marketplace (NFT)  OpenSea, a model that CEO Ivan Sotorayt calls “crypto services.”

SotoWright said that it aims to make cryptocurrencies accessible to the general public in the same way that video conferencing tools like Zoom have made calling over the internet easier.

According to the CEO of Exos, the cryptocurrency and digital markets will continue to develop in a healthy and positive way. “When it comes to blockchain and cryptocurrencies, I think we are still in the age of dial-up access,” he told CNBC.

"After all, you can easily move  value  anywhere in the world and the cost will be close to zero."

'Paypal for Cryptocurrency' Venture capital investment in market-leading startups is surging as the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies recently hit all-time highs. Investors are looking for the next Coinbase after the crypto exchange giant's blockbuster listing in April. For investors, the

MoonPay offer is that it provides a gateway to digital assets. Currently, this includes Bitcoin, Ether, and other digital tokens such as NFTs. But SotoWright's vision is to expand the platform to include everything from digital fashion to tokenized stocks.

“People call us like PayPal, but for cryptocurrencies,” he said. The company is under strict control and scrutiny to prevent money laundering, Sothoright said. Regulators are increasingly vigilant against the illegal market activity.

MoonPay claims to be profitable since the launch of the platform in 2019. The company expects to achieve annual sales of $150 million  this year after the trading volume has increased 35 times compared to 2020. More than 7 million customers are currently using this service.

However, the company faces fierce competition, especially from fintech pioneers like PayPal, which unveiled its own encryption capabilities last year. Sotorayt said he wasn't worried about the competition. He described PayPal as a "walled garden" that prevents users from taking control of their assets. “I believe that the future of cryptocurrency is when customers have their private keys,”  he said.

IPO Ambition Going forward, MoonPay plans to use the proceeds for new products and expansions. Sotorayt said the company already has ambitions to go public. “We have ambitions to eventually go public,” he said. The cryptocurrency is notorious for its volatility, which has affected even the most famous players in the universe. Coinbase, for example, failed to meet its Q3 revenue estimate due to a drop in monthly users. 4,444 Bitcoin hit an all-time high of nearly $69,000 earlier this month but has since fallen about 17%. Meanwhile, Ether is down 13% from all-time highs.

Bitcoin “has anti-inflation properties,” says  Tree of Wisdom. Sotorayt added that MoonPay is poised for a potential downturn in  the cryptocurrency market and that the assets the company supports are "unknown". said, “I believe that  over time, financial services and all these different applications will be disrupted by blockchain, just as communications were disrupted by Internet Protocol (VoIP).” “There will definitely be volatility as the market tries to figure out which asset, which blockchain will eventually be adopted.”