Crypto Payments Company MoonPay Acquiring Web3 Creative Agency Nightshift, Rebranding as Otherlife

Crypto payments infrastructure provider MoonPay is taking over Web3 creative agency Nightshift which will rebrand as Otherlife as part of the deal. The acquisition is to contribute to MoonPay’s plan of establishing itself as a one-stop shop for brands interested in expanding to crypto, collectible tokens, and metaverse activities.

“There was a big opportunity for us to come together and now be able to offer the end-to-end lifecycle support for big brands,” said Ivan Soto-Wright, the CEO and co-founder of Moonpay, AdWeek reported. “Now we can go to any brand that has an idea or wants to enter Web3, and we can help them execute a full end-to-end strategy.”

Following its rebranding effort, Nightshift will keep its portfolio of brand customers which comprises Adobe, Shopify and Arsenal Football Club, among others, in addition to providing its services to a number of MoonPay’s existing clients. Last June, MoonPay unveiled HyperMint, a non-fungible token (NFT) platform which hosted major brands such as Universal Pictures and Fox Corporation as launch partners.

“This technology is some of the best fandom technology that’s ever existed,” Soto-Wright said. “And so part of that, when we’re speaking to brands, was ‘OK, how do they execute a strategy? What is the ‘why’? How do we put a strategy in place?’”

Despite the ongoing downturn in the global crypto markets, Keith Grossman, MoonPay’s enterprise president, argues there is still significant interest in using the blockchain technology for various business cases such as loyalty programs and intellectual property supplements.

“What Nightshift has done really well is show people what Web3 experiences can be and how they can deepen brand engagement,” according to Grossman. “And at the end of the day, if you can show clients how they can be more successful, they don’t care if it’s Web1, Web2 or Web3—they just want to be more successful.”

MoonPay says it is active in more than 160 countries across the world, providing services to more than 5 million customers to whom the business has delivered some $2bn worth of crypto to date, according to figures from the business. MoonPay claims it has a valuation of about $3.4bn.

“Our on-and-off-ramp suite of products provides a seamless experience for converting between fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies using all major payment methods including debit and credit card, local bank transfers, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay,” the company says, adding that its services are trusted by more than 300 leading crypto wallets, sites, and applications.

In the meantime, the crypto payments infrastructure provider is also expanding its presence in Europe. Last month, MoonPay said it secured a registration as a cryptoasset business with the UK’s regulator Financial Conduct Authority.