Stellar (XLM) Gains 16% After Partnering With MoneyGram To Launch USDC Settlement

The Stellar XLM/USD blockchain’s native crypto token gained more than 16% over 24-hours following news of its partnership with MoneyGram International Inc MGI.

What Happened: In a press release on Wednesday, digital peer-to-peer payments company MoneyGram said it had integrated the Stellar blockchain to enable cash funding and payout in local currency for consumers using U.S dollar-pegged stablecoin USD Coin USDC/USD.

The service will also provide near-instant backend settlement capabilities for MoneyGram’s customers and users will be able to convert USDC to cash, or cash to USDC.

“This increases the utility and liquidity of digital assets while also enabling more consumers to participate in the digital economy. The impact of this partnership is expected to grow as more wallets and companies join the Stellar network,” said the company.

MoneyGram had previously partnered with Ripple Labs, the company behind XRP XRP/USD, to enable cross-border payments. The companies cut ties after the SEC brought a lawsuit against Ripple in December 2020.

United Texas Bank will serve as a settlement bank between MoneyGram and Circle, the company behind USDC.

The partnership is scheduled to go live in select markets in 2021, with a further international rollout planned in 2022.

As of Thursday morning at publication, Stellar’s native token is up 6.22% to a high of $0.346671 and MoneyGram shares are up 7.67% at $8.28.

Photo: drmakete lab on Unsplash