MoneyGram to Allow its Customers Buy and Withdraw Bitcoin from Locations in the US
MoneyGram International has announced plans on Wednesday to allow users to buy and sell Bitcoin for cash at specified retail locations in the United States. The US money transfer giant has joined swelling ranks of companies adopting Bitcoin through a collaboration with the cryptocurrency exchange Coinme. The company has begun preparations to introduce Bitcoin trades in over 20,000 stores across 32 states by Q3. Coinme already facilitates cash-for-bitcoin exchanges at about 6,000 supermarket kiosks.
According to the arrangement, MoneyGram and Coinme will be taking a fixed 4% out of customers’ transactions including an extra charge of $2.75. Coinme CEO Neil Bergquist mentioned that Walmart-based MoneyGram locations will be charging $2 more. This feature which will enable users to buy or swap their Bitcoins in physical locations in the US adds to the growing institutional acceptance of Bitcoin as rallies for the foremost cryptocurrency, Ethereum and other digital assets this year continues to gain wild attention. MoneyGram recently partnered with Ripple to use its digital asset XRP to facilitate the settlement of foreign exchange. As part of the agreement, Ripple held an equity position in MoneyGram. However, MoneyGram had earlier suspended Ripple’s use of the platform due to the lawsuit filed against it by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
MoneyGram’s CEO Alex Holmes is optimistic about the plan, mentioning that the companies are making arrangements to expand their offerings internationally in the second half of 2021. In the CEO’s words to CNBC “This innovative partnership opens our business to an entirely new customer segment as we are the first to pioneer a crypto-to-cash model by building a bridge with Coinme to connect Bitcoin to local fiat currency”.
Interests in Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies Increases as Top-Flight Institutions Continues to Buy into the Innovation
Several institutions including PayPal , MasterCard and Tesla have already made similar moves recently to stake into the crypto space. PayPal, a very popular payment gateway allows US users to trade cryptocurrencies while also using them as a payment alternative for millions of its merchants. Payment system Mastercard also announced intentions to begin supporting a select number of cryptocurrencies on its network in 2021 while its counterpart Visa, has begun supporting payments using the crypto-based version of the dollar USD coin.
Car manufacturing behemoth, Tesla, has also begun to accept Bitcoin as a payment alternative had made a bet in the cryptocurrency with $1.5 billion earlier this year, its stake at the end of March stands at about $2.5 billion. Other firms have also joined the trend of using company funds to stake on cryptocurrencies including Square and MicroStrategy.
Bitcoin has maintained an historical run since its inception in 2008, its monumental rise began 2016 at $433 and ending the year at $959. The cryptocurrency has gone ahead to maintain a wonderful trend and hitting a huge all time high at $60 in 2021. Making it the most valuable cryptocurrency and increasing the rate of its acceptance as a safe haven for financial purposes. Other cryptocurrencies have also been on a bullish trend as ETH, DOGE and ADA has peaked up to smash all-time highs this year too.
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