MoonPay Secures $160M in Emergency Loans from Ripple and Galaxy to Handle TRUMP Memecoin Surge

A surprise launch of Donald Trump’s official memecoin, TRUMP, triggered an overwhelming wave of demand, forcing crypto payments provider MoonPay to secure emergency funding from Ripple and Galaxy executives, a new podcast reveals.

TRUMP, introduced on Jan. 18 just days before the president’s inauguration, made history as the first-ever memecoin tied to a sitting U.S. president. Within 48 hours, its market cap skyrocketed from $200 million to over $10 billion, fueling more than $20 billion in trading volume across spot and futures markets.

However, the surge in activity came at an inconvenient time—on a Saturday, when MoonPay’s fiat accounts were offline due to the weekend, with a public holiday on Monday for the swearing-in ceremony. This left MoonPay unable to access over $100 million in required liquidity, putting the company in a tough spot.

Faced with an urgent shortfall, MoonPay President Keith Grossman, CEO Ivan Soto-Wright, and CFO Mouna Siala estimated they needed $100 million in USDC stablecoin. They reached out to Galaxy Digital’s Mike Novogratz, who agreed to a loan after BlackRock—where MoonPay held its reserves—vetted the deal.

As demand continued to surge, the launch of MELANIA, a memecoin linked to First Lady Melania Trump, further intensified liquidity needs. The initial loan proved insufficient, leading MoonPay to request an additional $60 million. Grossman then turned to Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, acknowledging they had underestimated the craze surrounding Trump’s token.

Ripple approved the additional funding only after extensive due diligence, including a personal asset pledge from Soto-Wright and assurances that MoonPay’s reserve capital had no outstanding claims against it.

By Jan. 21—after the long holiday weekend—MoonPay repaid both loans in full upon regaining access to its reserves. The frenzy also saw the platform onboard 750,000 new users in a single week.

Despite its explosive debut, TRUMP’s price has since plummeted 79% from its Jan. 19 peak.