MoneyGram has launched its own U.S. dollar stablecoin, MGUSD, natively on the Stellar blockchain — a move that puts the legacy remittance giant’s 60+ million active customers at the center of its growing crypto payments push.
Key partners and tech
- MGUSD is being issued by Bridge, a Stripe-owned company operating under the GENIUS Act framework. M0 supplies the smart-contract infrastructure that will mint and burn tokens, while Fireblocks provides custody and wallet infrastructure.
- The stablecoin is live in the U.S. first and will initially be held in Fireblocks wallets before being routed to customer wallets integrated into the MoneyGram app. The company says it plans to expand access internationally.
Why it matters
MoneyGram positions MGUSD as a product built specifically for remittances and global customers who have limited access to traditional banking. “MGUSD is the stablecoin we built for our customers, for the families sending money home and for the billions of people around the world with limited financial access,” MoneyGram Chairman and CEO Anthony Soohoo said.
This launch marks a strategic shift away from relying solely on third-party stablecoins and toward operating a token inside MoneyGram’s own payments ecosystem — enabling tighter control over settlement, custody and rails.
How it fits into MoneyGram’s recent crypto strategy
MoneyGram has steadily expanded its crypto footprint over the past year:
- September 2025: Integrated Crossmint’s wallet infrastructure so recipients in Colombia could receive transfers settled in Circle’s USDC, with the option to hold funds digitally or cash out at more than 6,000 MoneyGram locations.
- December 2025: Adopted Fireblocks technology for stablecoin settlements.
- Early 2026: Named an anchor remittance validator on the Tempo blockchain (a Stripe- and Paradigm-backed network).
- May 2026: Launched crypto-to-cash withdrawals for Kraken customers.
- February 2026: Announced as a validator for Midnight, Cardano’s privacy-focused sidechain, alongside eToro and Vodafone.
Stellar partnership
The Stellar Development Foundation framed MGUSD as the latest milestone in a collaboration that spans more than five years. Stellar infrastructure previously supported MoneyGram’s USDC-powered transfers; Denelle Dixon, CEO of the Stellar Development Foundation, called MGUSD the “next milestone” in showing what a payments-focused blockchain can deliver when paired with an established global money-transfer network.
Industry context
MoneyGram is not alone in developing proprietary stablecoin and settlement solutions. Western Union recently introduced a USDPT stablecoin on Solana, while PayPal and Visa have incorporated stablecoin infrastructure into cross-border settlement services. Traditional financial institutions are also experimenting with tokenized fiat: Societe Generale’s digital-asset arm expanded regulated EURCV and USDCV liquidity to DeFi venues such as Morpho and Uniswap.
Bottom line
By issuing MGUSD on Stellar and integrating custody and smart-contract partners, MoneyGram is doubling down on tokenized dollars as part of a broader strategy to modernize remittances. The U.S. rollout will be the first test of whether a legacy remittance brand can leverage a native stablecoin to speed settlements, reduce costs and broaden digital access before taking the product global.
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