MoneyGram Bets on Multichain Future with Solana Expansion

The company said on 11 Aug that MoneyGram Ramps, which lets users move between cash and crypto, is now available on Solana, one of the largest blockchain networks. Rift, an AI-powered trading platform, is the first Solana wallet to use the service. Until today, Ramps only ran on the Stellar network. 

The expansion comes as payment companies continue to spread their crypto services across multiple blockchains rather than relying on a single network. MoneyGram said it expects several networks to play a role as stablecoins – digital tokens that are designed to maintain a steady value by being pegged to fiat currency – become more widely used for payments. 

"We don't believe the future of digital money will be a closed ecosystem where one or two blockchains or networks capture all of the activity," a MoneyGram spokesperson told Sandmark. 

The company said that is why it is "building infrastructure that can operate across ecosystems rather than betting on a single chain."

Why Solana?

MoneyGram said Solana's fast transactions, low costs and large developer community made it a good fit for Ramps. Solana currently has about $15.7bn worth of stablecoins on its network, according to DeFiLlama.

Stablecoin use on Solana has also grown quickly with monthly active stablecoin addresses on the network rising 608% over a two-year period measured by Visa, compared with 89% on Ethereum.

But experts say Solana's growth in payments does not necessarily mean it will become the main blockchain for all types of transactions.

Daniela Sozzi, a fintech strategy consultant at DNYC and former management consultant at crypto exchange Binance, said Solana has gained ground particularly in smaller consumer and cross-border payments, where keeping transaction costs low is important.

"The transaction fees are more predictable and very small and margins are preserved," Sozzi told Sandmark. However, larger business and institutional transactions are more likely to remain on Ethereum and other networks with greater liquidity, she said. Ethereum is the largest smart-contract blockchain, with roughly $41.2bn in assets locked across decentralized finance protocols. 

Greg Reveret, CEO of cross-border payments company VaultLeap, also said Solana's low costs and speed make it attractive for payments, but that does not mean one network will dominate.

"The honest picture is a healthy multi-chain landscape, not one network running away with it," Reveret told Sandmark.

Payment companies spread across blockchains

The shift comes as stablecoins have grown into a major way of moving money on blockchains. More than $51tn worth of stablecoin transactions were recorded over the past 12 months, according to Visa's onchain data.

Moreover, MoneyGram is not alone in using several blockchain networks. Earlier this year, Visa expanded its stablecoin settlement pilot to nine blockchains, while Mastercard said in June it would support stablecoin settlement across networks such as Ethereum, Solana, Base and Polygon.

Reveret said payments companies generally choose between networks based on transaction costs, speed and how easily users can move between crypto and traditional currencies.

"The headline isn't which blockchain wins payments," he told Sandmark. "It's that stablecoins turned settlement into infrastructure, and the serious players now pick a chain the way they'd pick any vendor, on cost, finality, and compliance."

Deepening involvement

The move also builds on MoneyGram's deepening involvement with Solana. In June, the company became a validator on the network – this means it helps process and verify transactions.

Sozzi said that also reflects another change in the payments industry: large companies are moving beyond just partnering with crypto entities and becoming more directly involved with blockchain networks.

Traditional payment providers are moving "from passive partner-led integrations to active participation through their own infrastructure as validators," she said.

Meanwhile, Reveret said MoneyGram's latest move matters beyond its decision to use Solana. "The biggest story isn't the chain, it's that a legacy money transmitter is settling directly on a public blockchain at all," he added.

MoneyGram said it will continue looking at other technologies and partnerships. The company was taken private by private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners in 2023 after previously trading publicly.