Ripple Rival Stellar Announces WhiteBIT’s Integration Into MoneyGram Access

Ripple rival Stellar has announced that crypto exchange WhiteBIT has joined MoneyGram Access.

Stellar announced that the WhiteBIT cryptocurrency exchange had become the latest partner to join the MoneyGram Access. The decentralized open-source network made this known in a tweet yesterday.

According to the announcement, the integration will allow WhiteBIT to give its users access to MoneyGram’s crypto-to-cash off-ramps across supported locations in Ukraine.

We’re thrilled to announce that @WhiteBit has become the newest partner to join MoneyGram Access!

With this integration, WhiteBit is able to offer users access to @MoneyGram‘s crypto-to-cash off-ramps across participating locations in Ukraine.https://t.co/tqNTIcUbls

— Stellar (@StellarOrg) July 5, 2023

MoneyGram Access

Following the announcement, WhiteBIT has become the sixth partner to join MoneyGram Access. Other service partners include Vibrant, Lobstr, Circle, Decaf, and Beans.

For context, MoneyGram Access is a MoneyGram product powered by the Stellar network. The solution allows digital wallets and fintech applications to make money available to the unbanked.

Customers can easily convert their physical cash into digital dollars, and vice versa, from their wallets and fintech apps.

By integrating with MoneyGram Access, businesses can offer their customers low-cost and fast transactions using USDC on the Stellar network.

Businesses that can use the service include crypto wallet providers, crypto exchanges, and developers of fintech applications. It is worth noting that MoneyGram requires businesses to undergo an onboarding process before using the services.

Stellar and Ripple’s Rivalry

Meanwhile, Stellar has continued to be a significant rival to Ripple. The company was founded by Ripple’s co-founder Jed McCaleb in 2014. McCaleb left Ripple in 2014 following a fallout with the company’s executives.

Interestingly, McCaleb left Ripple with his XRP share, which equated to around 9% of the coin’s supply. For eight years, McCaleb continued selling his XRP holdings and finally emptied his account in July 2022.

It bears mentioning that MoneyGram used to be a major Ripple partner. The duo enjoyed an interesting collaboration for a few years. While Ripple invested huge sums in purchasing MoneyGram’s stocks, the company used the blockchain company’s On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) solution for cross-border settlements backed by XRP.

However, the collaboration ended in 2021, a few weeks after the SEC sued Ripple for allegedly violating federal securities laws. MoneyGram stopped using ODL for cross-border settlements, prompting Ripple to end the partnership in March 2021. The move also involves Ripple dumping all MoneyGram’s shares it owned.

After the breakup, MoneyGram officially partnered with Stellar in October 2021, with the duo subsequently unveiling new products and services.