Bitcoin News and Finance Moneygram Partners With Stellar Development Foundation to Allow Users to Make Remittances With USD Coin Skip to main content

Moneygram Partners With Stellar Development Foundation to Allow Users to Make Remittances With USD Coin

moneygram

Moneygram, one of the leaders in the cross-border payments and remittances market, has partnered with the Stellar Development Foundation to use the Stellar blockchain for settlements. The company will use the native version of USD coin (USDC), a popular stablecoin, to simplify and accelerate the process of sending remittances. This also means that Moneygram will act as a fiat on and off-ramp service for USD coin users.

Moneygram to Use Crypto for Remittances

Moneygram, a Dallas, Texas-based payments and remittances company, has announced a partnership with the Stellar Development Foundation, the development and growth arm for the Stellar blockchain, to make use of its capabilities for settling payments and facilitating remittances. The company will use the native version of USDC on the Stellar blockchain to move funds in a more easy and effective way.

However, neither Moneygram nor Circle are banks. United Texas Bank will serve as a settlement bank between Circle and MoneyGram, acting as a link between the two institutions.

Moneygram now becomes an off-ramp for users of USD coin as a way of getting fiat funds, and vice-versa, adding value to the USDC ecosystem. Moneygram was one of the first remittances companies to integrate blockchain when it announced a partnership with Ripple. However, this partnership dissolved after the SEC announced it was pursuing legal actions against the company in December, 2020.

Simpler, Faster, and Cheaper

The new system to be implemented by the company is expected to allow for almost instantaneous settlement times with low fees thanks to the use of the Stellar blockchain, and no implied volatility due to the use of stablecoins. About the importance of these instruments, Alex Holmes, CEO of Moneygram stated:

As crypto and digital currencies rise in prominence, we’re especially optimistic about the potential of stablecoins as a method to streamline cross-border payments… we are extremely well-positioned to continue to be the leader in building bridges to connect digital currencies with local fiat currencies.

According to Circle, this partnership will contribute to lowering the costs associated with remittances. This is one of the UN’s proposed Sustainable Development Goals, which aims to lower remittance costs from 7% to 3% of the funds sent. It will be interesting to see if cryptocurrencies can help achieve this objective in the short term.

What do you think about Moneygram’s partnership with the Stellar Development Foundation? Tell us in the comments section below.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Custodial Lightning Network Service Attack Discovered by LN ‘Newbie’ — Hacker Strikes 6 LN Custodians

On September 18, a Redditor posted to the r/bitcoin forum and explained how he discovered a way to “attack [the] lightning Network’s custodial services.” The Reddit account dubbed “Reckless Satoshi” wanted to figure out if a “discrepancy between real routing fees and service’s transaction fee can be exploited for a profit.” The researcher disclosed that he wanted to see how large the damage could be and said “it is bad.” 6 Lightning Network Custodial Services Attacked, Researcher Discloses Findings to Offenders Prior to Public Disclosure A Redditor called Reckless Satoshi published a disclosure post on r/bitcoin this past Saturday and disclosed how he had found a vulnerability with routing fees and some of the Lightning Network’s custodial services. The research attack was done in good faith and after it was complete he disclosed the bugs to the offending services before publishing his findings. Reckless Satoshi used the Lightning Network (LN) attack on six different services incl...

Axie Infinity Down 40% Since Last Week’s Price High, Protocol Revenue Outshines Competitors

Last week, the game token leveraged within the Axie Infinity gaming universe skyrocketed to all-time highs, while other crypto markets remained extremely lackluster. During the last seven days, Axie Infinity’s platform token has dropped significantly in value shedding more than 12%. Meanwhile, the game platform’s smooth love potion token has slid over 8% over the last 24 hours. Axie Infinity Down More Than 40% Since All-Time High Not too long ago, the axie infinity (AXS) token was a topical conversation because it reached an all-time high on July 15. At the time, AXS managed to capture $28.93 per unit and since then it has shed 12.8% during the last seven days. The axie infinity (AXS) token is used within the blockchain-based game that involves battles between token-based creatures called “Axies.” AXS is used for the game’s governance system as well as other actions within the game. At the time of writing axie infinity (AXS) is exchanging hands for $16.70 per coin. AXS/USD on Ju...

Play-to-Earn Game From Polker (PKR) Exchange Listing – Endorsed by Akon

The Play-to-Earn NFT based Polker.Game ‘s native token $PKR has been officially listed on the popular centralized exchange BitMart. Polker.game has been in the spotlight recently as Akon, the American R&B superstar and record producer gave his official endorsement of polker stating that the “game is revolutionary” and that Polker is “hands down.. the best play to earn, NFT game in the space.”. With the BitMart listing and celebrity endorsement from Akon, Polker is perfectly positioned to become a major player in the Play-to-Earn league. Watch Akon’s Video Here What is Play-to-Earn? Although not a new concept, play-to-earn has become a trending term due to the popularity of the NFT game AXIE infinity. In the past, previous play-to-earn games have also achieved success – however, thanks to the huge amount of development in the blockchain space in recent years the gaming experience is now massively improved. Play-to-Earn games are essentially free to play and open to anyone and...

China to Crack Down on Copyright Infringement Through NFTs

Authorities in China are going after creators of digital collectibles based on other people’s works of art, the use of which was not authorized. The government offensive is part of a campaign to combat online copyright infringement and piracy with the participation of several departments. Regulators in China Move to Strengthen Copyright Supervision of Online Platforms The National Copyright Administration of China (NCAC) has recently launched a campaign against copyright infringement and piracy on the internet, together with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, and the State Internet Information Office of the People’s Republic. A major objective of the initiative is to improve copyright supervision of online businesses by investigating cases involving the sale and distribution of infringing products on short video, live broadcast and e-commerce platforms, and promptly dealing with infringing content, the agency announced in a press r...

Trezor and Wasabi to Implement a Coinjoin Mixing Scheme Into Hardware Wallets

This week, the hardware wallet manufacturer Trezor, and the non-custodial bitcoin wallet with a built-in Coinjoin mixer, Wasabi, revealed the two teams are working together to introduce Coinjoin mixing into hardware wallets. On Sunday, Wasabi tweeted “hardware wallet Coinjoins are coming next year with our friends at [Trezor].” Trezor Says Company Is ‘Working on a Coinjoin Implementation’ According to Trezor and Wasabi , a form of Coinjoin mixing is coming to hardware wallets in the near future. Coinjoin is a privacy-enhancing process that is leveraged to anonymize transfers on a blockchain. Basically, the scheme involves a number of parties transacting together and mixing their unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs) in a pool to obfuscate the origin of all the funds. On Sunday, Wasabi’s official Twitter account tweeted about adding the privacy-enhancing scheme to hardware wallets. In the thread, someone asked Wasabi when they would release an “album,” and Trezor replied : “Hi, we’...

Grand Theft Auto 6 to Feature a Fictional Cryptocurrency

One of the biggest franchises in the videogame industry, Grand Theft Auto, will feature in-game payments of “bitcoin” or another fictional cryptocurrency. Contractors will pay the player with this currency when they need to make anonymous, untraceable payments. This would constitute another push for Bitcoin awareness into mainstream media culture. Grand Theft Auto 6 to Feature in-Game Fictional Cryptocurrency Grand Theft Auto 6, one of the biggest gaming franchises, will feature an in-game cryptocurrency for payments according to insiders. The game will allow the player to accept cryptocurrency payments from big shot contractors who want to remain anonymous. Industry insider Tom Henderson leaked the news on Twitter earlier this week. He stated: I heard recently that in GTA 6, some missions will reward you in bitcoin instead of cash for completing some missions. The stock market feature will return, with the addition of a broker for different cryptocurrencies. If GTA 6 incorporate...

Grayscale Considering 25 More Crypto Assets for Investment Products

Grayscale, the world’s largest crypto asset manager, is considering 25 more crypto assets for investment products. With the latest additions, the company’s list of coins under consideration has grown to 43. “The process of creating an investment product similar to the ones we already offer is a complex, multifaceted process,” said Grayscale. 25 Crypto Assets Added to List of Coins Under Consideration for Grayscale’s Investment Products Grayscale Investments announced Monday that it has updated its list of digital assets under consideration for 2022. Grayscale currently has $30.6 billion in net assets under management. The company explained that the “Assets Under Consideration” list comprises “some digital assets that are not currently included in a Grayscale investment product, but that have come to our attention as part of our exploration of this sector, and that our team has identified as possible candidates for inclusion in a future investment product.” Grayscale detailed: Wit...

Cardano’s Cfund First Capital Goes to Israeli Fintech Startup Coti

This latest move to broaden cooperation between Cardano and Coti builds upon previous collaborations as the former seeks to upgrade its payment solution on top of the former’s expanding financial infrastructure. Strategic Investment Marks First Allocation for New Ecosystem Venture Fund One of the earliest proposed use cases for blockchain was the democratization of financial services, namely by reaching unbanked and underbanked communities worldwide. From remittance payments, access to credit facilities, or even just digital wallet solutions, advancements across the blockchain landscape have finally made this vision a reality. Among them, Coti is developing the enterprise-grade base layer for the rest to build atop of. Coti, which is short for “currency of the internet,” operates a fintech platform that supports stakeholder-driven payment solutions and empowers these stakeholders to digitize any currency. This aim aligns with Cardano’s ambitions of affordably and instantaneously ...
Blogarama - Blog Directory