Blockchain Bites: Ripple’s MoneyGram Pump, OKEx’s Bitcoin Cash Plan, Bitcoin’...

MoneyGram sheds light on the nature of its partnership with Ripple. Global money transfer service MoneyGram has clarified the nature of its collaboration with its blockchain partner Ripple following the latter’s recent probe by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.In a press statement issued on Dec. 23, MoneyGram revealed that it has never utilized Ripple’s counterparty services, namely On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) and RippleNet, for forex transactions."As a reminder, MoneyGram does not utilize the ODL platform or RippleNet for direct transfers of consumer funds – digital or otherwise.....

Ripple Labs Inc. is selling 4 million of its shares in Moneygram, or about a third of its total shareholding in the company. The decision seems in part to be motivated by the surging Moneygram share price and Ripple’s desire to cash out after buying the shares at a premium of $4.10 in 2019. At close on Nov. 27, shares of Moneygram were down 4.8% at $7.42 on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. However, the stock has soared 260% year-to-date, rising from $2.06 on Jan. 2. Ripple will earn nearly $30 million if it sold its 4 million Moneygram shares at current market prices – an almost 50%....

"Due to the uncertainty concerning their ongoing litigation with the SEC, the company has suspended trading on Ripple's platform," says MoneyGram's quarterly outlook. Global money transfer service MoneyGram says it has changed its relationship with blockchain payments firm Ripple amid the latter's litigation with the Securities and Exchange Commission.According to MoneyGram's quarterly outlook, the company is "not planning for any benefit from Ripple market development fees" for the first quarter of 2021. MoneyGram said it had a more than $12 million net expense benefit from Ripple in the....

Moneygram will start letting customers buy and sell bitcoin at 12,000 locations, thanks to a partnership with Coinme. The collaboration “will bring bitcoin to thousands of new point-of-sale locations in the U.S. with plans to expand to select international markets in the second half of 2021,” the companies say. Bitcoin at Moneygram Locations Moneygram International Inc. and Coinme, a licensed crypto-to-cash exchange in the U.S., announced Wednesday the “launch of a new partnership to enable the cash funding and payout of digital currency purchases and sales.” A....

The investment follows a May 2021 partnership between the two firms aimed at expanding access to crypto-fiat exchanges. Money transmission network MoneyGram now has a minority investment in crypto ATM operator Coinme following a Series A funding round.In a Wednesday announcement, MoneyGram said it had purchased a roughly 4% ownership stake in Coinme — likely more than $764,000, given its valuation of $19.1 million in June — as part of a strategic investment in the crypto company. The investment follows a May 2021 partnership between the two firms aimed at expanding access to crypto-fiat....