• Ivan Soto-Wright founded MoonPay to simplify fiat-to-crypto transactions, making digital assets more accessible worldwide.
  • MoonPay acquired Helio for $175 million to enhance its crypto payment infrastructure and expand services.

Ivan Soto-Wright, a prominent fintech entrepreneur, has had an intriguing path from traditional financial advice to the summit of the cryptocurrency industry. Ivan, a first-generation American born of a Venezuelan father and a Canadian mother, has effectively merged his academic background with a creative vision for the digital banking industry.

Ivan Soto-Wright: Early Career and Education

From The George Washington University, Ivan graduated Phi Beta Kappa with Special Honors in Economics. At the University of Oxford, he also studied politics, economics, and philosophy. Following graduation, Ivan started his work advising some of the biggest pension funds and insurance firms on strategic asset allocation and portfolio building at Redington, an investment consultancy company in London.

Ivan saw an opportunity to help people manage their money more easily. So, he built Saveable, an app that let UK and EU users automate their savings and investments. It took off quickly, gaining over a million users before Plum Fintech acquired it.

How MoonPay Makes Crypto More Accessible

Ivan and his friend Victor Faramond started MoonPay in 2019 in order to enable the conversion from fiat to crypto. The platform makes it simple for users in more than 160 countries to access cryptocurrencies by supporting credit and debit cards as well as local bank transfers, therefore enabling a range of payment options.

MoonPay’s Growth Amid Setbacks

Despite growing fast, MoonPay has faced challenges along the way. In May 2024, the company laid off 10% of its workforce. Ivan reassured employees that MoonPay was financially stable but admitted that cost-cutting was necessary to keep things running efficiently.

MoonPay’s Bold Move with Helio

In January 2025, MoonPay acquired Helio, a UK-based crypto payment processor on the Solana network, for $175 million. Ivan called the deal a game-changer, explaining that Helio’s technology would help MoonPay speed up transactions while ensuring security and scalability.

Ivan’s Opinions on the Crypto Industry

Ivan thinks that the adoption of cryptocurrency has to be appealing and relevant for the general people. He said, in an interview, “We have to make this cool.” This says about his deliberate strategy to include cryptocurrency in daily life and popular culture.

From financial adviser to crypto industry leader, Ivan Soto-Wright’s path reveals how vision and technological change adaptation could result in significant innovation. Ivan and MoonPay lead the worldwide digital financial revolution by always emphasizing the raising of the accessibility and importance of cryptocurrency.