MoneyGram, the global payments company serving more than 60 million active customers, joined Solana as a validator as it pushes deeper into stablecoin-based payment infrastructure.
The company said on June 22 that it is now an active validator on Solana, meaning it will help process transaction blocks and support network security by staking SOL, the network's native token.
- MoneyGram also joined Solana Developer Platform, an API-based platform built for developers that want to build products on the network.
The move takes MoneyGram beyond simply using blockchains for payments. It now helps run part of the infrastructure it may use for stablecoin settlement and other on-chain financial services.
As Luke Tuttle, MoneyGram's chief product and technology officer, explained in the press release, running a validator "puts MoneyGram inside Solana's consensus."
- He added that the company will "stake Solana (SOL), process transaction blocks and help secure the network at the protocol level," though he didn't say how much SOL MoneyGram will stake or when the validator became active.
MoneyGram's on-chain background
MoneyGram has spent several years building stablecoin and crypto access into its payments network, though most of that work has centered on Stellar rather than Solana.
MoneyGram and the Stellar Development Foundation extended their partnership in April, saying they had spent more than five years turning stablecoins into real-world payment tools.
- MoneyGram's developer docs also say MoneyGram Ramps supports USDC cash-in and cash-out through Stellar, while Solana wallets can connect by bridging USDC to Stellar.
- More recently, MoneyGram also launched MGUSD, its own dollar stablecoin, with native issuance on Stellar.
- It also became Tempo's anchor remittance validator in May, another step toward directly operating blockchain payment infrastructure.