Behind $TRUMP's Successful Launch: Ripple and Galaxy's $160 Million Loan Support Alleviate MoonPay Liquidity Crisis
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Behind $TRUMP's Successful Launch: Ripple and Galaxy's $160 Million Loan Support Alleviate MoonPay Liquidity Crisis
If MoonPay fails to provide sufficient liquidity to support continuous token purchases, the 750,000 new users added within a week of TRUMP's launch may not be able to obtain the token smoothly.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: Logan Hitchcock
Compiled by: TechFlow
MoonPay, a crypto payments company, secured $160 million in loan support from Galaxy Digital and Ripple to meet the explosive demand for Trump’s official Solana-based meme coin TRUMP during its launch weekend.
MoonPay President Keith Grossman revealed details of this three-party collaboration on the “When Shift Happens” podcast. He noted that MoonPay CEO Ivan Soto-Wright made significant commitments, and the company had to guarantee that its reserve funds were free of liens. “The volume was just massive,” Grossman said. “Our crypto liquidity was tied up in traditional finance through a BlackRock account… and it happened to be a Saturday.”
Meanwhile, due to the promotional strategy of the Trump meme coin team, MoonPay’s crypto reserves were rapidly depleted. Users could purchase TRUMP via a mobile app called Moonshot, for which MoonPay serves as the exclusive crypto payment provider.
Moonshot is designed for crypto beginners, simplifying the process of buying meme coins. Users only need to register with an email and fund their accounts using credit or debit cards, avoiding the complexities of decentralized exchanges—ideal for those new to cryptocurrency.
When users buy TRUMP tokens on Moonshot, their funds are converted into MoonPay’s crypto reserves, primarily the stablecoin USDC. These USDC funds are then used to purchase TRUMP tokens on the Solana blockchain.
If MoonPay failed to provide sufficient liquidity to support continuous token purchases, the 750,000 new users added within the first week of TRUMP’s launch might not have been able to acquire the tokens smoothly. This would not only hinder TRUMP’s early growth but could also negatively impact other MoonPay users.
Grossman said that if MoonPay ran out of funds, the app might simply tell users, “Sorry, unable to complete the transaction.”
To prevent this scenario, he worked with MoonPay CEO Ivan Soto-Wright and CFO Mouna Siala to forecast funding needs. Initially, they estimated $50 million would suffice, but after reassessing TRUMP’s rapid growth within the first 24 hours, the required amount quickly doubled to $100 million.
However, since MoonPay’s reserves were locked in traditional financial systems and not immediately accessible, Grossman decided to contact Mike Novogratz of Galaxy Digital. After a brief conversation, both parties swiftly agreed on a loan deal. MoonPay’s team rushed to finalize documentation while confirming through BlackRock connections that the company could repay the loan.
Even then, $100 million wasn’t enough. As demand for TRUMP surged further the next day, MoonPay reached out to Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple Labs.
“We underestimated the demand for the Trump token,” MoonPay’s team told Garlinghouse.
Ripple’s CEO agreed to provide additional funding, on condition that MoonPay obtain Galaxy’s approval to ensure the prior loan arrangement remained unaffected. Ultimately, Ripple provided Galaxy with an extra $60 million loan, which was then passed through to MoonPay.
As traditional financial institutions in Europe and the U.S. resumed operations on Monday and Tuesday, MoonPay regained access to its own funds and fully repaid the loans by Tuesday afternoon.
According to CoinGecko data, TRUMP recorded an average daily trading volume exceeding $20 billion in its first five days and achieved a fully diluted valuation (the theoretical market cap assuming all tokens were unlocked) of over $73 billion in less than 48 hours.
Within days of launch, TRUMP successfully listed on spot markets of major centralized exchanges including Binance and Coinbase. These listings further lowered the barrier for new users to access the token.
A representative from MoonPay confirmed to Decrypt that Grossman’s account is accurate, though representatives from Galaxy and Ripple have not yet responded to Decrypt’s request for comment.
Currently, TRUMP is trading at $15.37, down more than 79% from its all-time high.
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