Solana Lands Major Win As Western Union Goes Crypto
Western Union said it will launch a dollar-backed stablecoin and build a new crypto payment network on Solana, a move that could reshape how the company moves money across borders. Related Reading: IBM Unveils Digital Asset Haven For Banks And Governments – Details According to company filings and press releases, the token will be called […]
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As new U.S. government measures that impose restrictions on remittances to Cuba becomes effective after November 22, Western Union, which has been operating in the island nation since 1999, will close shop. The new rule, which was published on October 27, gave Western Union 30 days to implement new restrictions. The new rule is likely to increase the appeal of crypto assets as Cubans are now expected to find a suitable alternative in a very short space of time. Targeted Sanctions At the time of the initial U.S. government announcement, the global remittances giant had promised to find a....
In the world of cash-transfers, few other companies come to mind as instantaneously as Western Union. If you’ve walked in a convenience store anywhere between the west and east coast of the United States, you’ve probably seen a banner for Western Union. The remittance provider is currently facing a preliminary antitrust inquiry as the EU examines allegations of Western Union intentionally driving rivals out of business. Allegedly, Western Union is giving their retail outlet partners contracts with exclusivity contracts in them which don’t allow other cash-transfer services to operate....
Western Union Chief Information Officer John "David" Thompson was interviewed by Coindesk this week and made some very revealing comments about Bitcoin, and its future in global monetary transfer. Many know Western Union as the world's largest personal monetary transfer corporation, founded way back in 1851. Operating in 220 countries worldwide, it generated almost $800M last year in net income, which is down over 20% from 2012. I wonder why it is down over $200M all of the sudden? Also read: Digital Currency Advocate: What Western Union CEO Is Missing. Western Union CIO: Bitcoin doesn't....
Ripple’s recent moves are drawing new attention after Western Union picked Solana for a USDPT rollout in 2026. According to supporters of XRP, that headline misses a bigger picture: Ripple has been buying firms that touch much larger pools of money. Related Reading: Bitcoin Drop Shaves $5 Billion From Satoshi Nakamoto’s Untouched Fortune Western Union’s deal could steer over $100 billion in annual cross-border flow to Solana. But some say that sum is small compared with the pipelines Ripple is tying into. Trillions Not Billions Based on reports, Ripple has added firms that already sit....
This essay is an updated chapter from Luis Buenaventura’s Reinventing Remittances with Bitcoin, available for free in e-book and print form now. One of the most common questions asked at industry conferences is why Western Union or Moneygram don’t just use Bitcoin themselves. If they did, they could eliminate the potential threat posed by the young Bitcoin remittance start-ups who are out there trying to eat their lunch. Theoretically, Western Union could just throw R&D resources at the problem and come up with a large-scale version of what companies like Bitspark in Hong Kong, Payphil....