Key Takeaways
- • MoonPay acquired Glide, a crypto deposit infrastructure provider founded in 2023 by former Robinhood wallet engineers Tushar Soni and Qinyu Tong, in an all-equity transaction announced July 16, 2026, marking the company's sixth acquisition of the year.
- • Glide processes over $100 million in annual volume across 100+ tokens and 30 blockchain networks, offering seamless cross-chain deposit functionality that eliminates manual asset swaps and network transfers for end users.
- • The acquisition integrates Glide's routing technology into MoonPay Deposits, which currently serves major platforms including Telegram's Wallet, Moonshot, and Paysafe, expanding institutional-grade deposit infrastructure across the ecosystem.
- • Glide's internal routing layer intelligently selects between instant relayer, bridge, and swap routes based on transaction speed and cost, with capability to settle cross-chain transactions instantly while supporting multi-million dollar transfers through self-custodial escrow smart contracts.
- • The deal positions MoonPay to capitalize on deposits as a critical user acquisition funnel, as CEO Ivan Soto Wright emphasized that funding mechanisms represent "a natural entry point for users bringing funds onto a platform."
Summary
MoonPay has completed its acquisition of Glide, a crypto deposit infrastructure startup, as part of an accelerated M&A strategy in 2026. The all-equity transaction, announced July 16, 2026, brings together MoonPay's broader payment and funding platform with Glide's specialized deposit routing technology developed by former Robinhood wallet team members Tushar Soni and Qinyu Tong, who founded the company in 2023.
Glide's core value proposition addresses a persistent friction point in crypto user onboarding: the inability of applications to accept deposits in arbitrary tokens, wallets, or blockchain networks without forcing users to execute manual conversions or cross-chain bridges. The startup has built an internal routing layer that intelligently directs funding flows across multiple pathways—instant relayers, bridges, and swap protocols—selecting optimal routes based on speed and cost efficiency. The infrastructure demonstrates material scale, processing over $100 million in annual volume across more than 100 supported tokens spanning 30 blockchain networks. Critically, settlement occurs through self-custodial escrow smart contracts verified onchain, designed to comply with regulatory requirements while maintaining transaction throughput capable of handling multi-million dollar transfers with instant settlement.
The acquisition integrates Glide's technology directly into MoonPay Deposits, MoonPay's existing funding product already embedded in high-profile applications including Wallet in Telegram (which serves over 100 million users), Moonshot, and Paysafe. This vertical consolidation expands MoonPay's infrastructure stack and positions deposits as a strategic customer acquisition lever. MoonPay CEO Ivan Soto Wright underscored this rationale, describing deposits as "a natural entry point for users bringing funds onto a platform" and praising Glide as having "built some of the best deposit technology in the market."
Glide was backed by Y Combinator, Titan Fund, and other investors. The acquisition represents MoonPay's sixth deal announcement in 2026, signaling continued aggressive consolidation within the crypto fintech infrastructure sector.
Glide's core value proposition addresses a persistent friction point in crypto user onboarding: the inability of applications to accept deposits in arbitrary tokens, wallets, or blockchain networks without forcing users to execute manual conversions or cross-chain bridges. The startup has built an internal routing layer that intelligently directs funding flows across multiple pathways—instant relayers, bridges, and swap protocols—selecting optimal routes based on speed and cost efficiency. The infrastructure demonstrates material scale, processing over $100 million in annual volume across more than 100 supported tokens spanning 30 blockchain networks. Critically, settlement occurs through self-custodial escrow smart contracts verified onchain, designed to comply with regulatory requirements while maintaining transaction throughput capable of handling multi-million dollar transfers with instant settlement.
The acquisition integrates Glide's technology directly into MoonPay Deposits, MoonPay's existing funding product already embedded in high-profile applications including Wallet in Telegram (which serves over 100 million users), Moonshot, and Paysafe. This vertical consolidation expands MoonPay's infrastructure stack and positions deposits as a strategic customer acquisition lever. MoonPay CEO Ivan Soto Wright underscored this rationale, describing deposits as "a natural entry point for users bringing funds onto a platform" and praising Glide as having "built some of the best deposit technology in the market."
Glide was backed by Y Combinator, Titan Fund, and other investors. The acquisition represents MoonPay's sixth deal announcement in 2026, signaling continued aggressive consolidation within the crypto fintech infrastructure sector.
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