MoneyGram Acquires Stake in Ripple-Invested Cryptocurrency Cash Exchange

Money transfer company MoneyGram has bought a 4% stake in Coinme. Read the full article by Alex Dovbnya

MoneyGram is a popular money transfer service with users sending money around the world and also used to be partners with XRP until the SEC case began last year. Since they have terminated that partnership they signed a similar agreement to fill the void with top XRP competitor XLM. They are now getting more involved in the cryptocurrency business by acquiring a 4% stake in crypto exchange Coinme

The original partnership between MoneyGram and Coinme was announced in May to allow for the buying of Bitcoin with cash and withdrawing it in 20,000 stores throughout the United States. “At MoneyGram, we continue to be bullish on the vast opportunities that exist in the ever-growing world of cryptocurrency and our ability to operate as a compliant bridge to connect digital assets to local fiat currency,” said MoneyGram CEO Alex Holmes.

Coinme was the first licensed Bitcoin ATM company in the US has also previously partnered with the popular supermarket kiosk company coin star to bring Bitcoin purchasing to an additional 5,000 stores in the country. Bitcoin ATMs are a good idea for the owners but sometimes do not make as much sense for the consumer as the fees can be high and some do not allow for the transfer of BTC into cash. This partnership makes that possible and adds further use to the functionality of actually using BTC in everyday transactions.