MoneyGram said it is now running an active validator on Solana and has joined the Solana Developer Platform, adding a new layer to its blockchain strategy beyond stablecoin services and payment products.
In a June 22 announcement, the payments company said its validator stakes SOL, processes transaction blocks, and supports network security and performance. MoneyGram described the move as the next phase of a blockchain effort that has spread across treasury, product development, and payments operations over the past five years.
Validator role places MoneyGram inside Solana consensus
Chief Product and Technology Officer Luke Tuttle said operating a validator puts MoneyGram directly into Solana’s consensus process and lets the company help secure the network at the protocol level. He said the firm is building products designed to support money movement across different forms of value, framing the validator role in simple terms: MoneyGram is helping run the rails it uses to move money.
Sheraz Shere, General Manager of Payments and Commerce at the Solana Foundation, said the company’s participation shows how organizations involved in global payments are becoming active members of blockchain networks as more payment activity moves onchain.
Joining a Solana platform used by institutions
MoneyGram said it joined the Solana Developer Platform alongside institutions that include Mastercard. The company described the platform as a development environment built to help institutions create and scale compliant financial products on Solana. Chairman and CEO Anthony Soohoo said blockchain infrastructure is now a core component of MoneyGram’s payment systems and that future development will build from that base.
No new Solana-based payment product was announced with the validator launch. MoneyGram said its role on the network is part of a long-term effort tied to open blockchain infrastructure for global money transfers. Soohoo also said the future of global money movement will be built on open, interoperable stablecoin rails that can be accessed by anyone, anywhere.
Move comes after MGUSD launch and broader validator expansion
The Solana step came weeks after MoneyGram launched MGUSD, its U.S. dollar stablecoin, on Stellar. The token went live on June 2 through a partnership with Bridge, a Stripe-owned company serving as issuer. M0 provides minting and burning infrastructure, while Fireblocks handles custody.
MoneyGram said MGUSD is the latest addition to a blockchain payments strategy that has grown through partnerships with Stellar, Crossmint, Fireblocks, and Kraken. The company has also rolled out stablecoin-based remittance services, crypto-to-cash withdrawals, and digital dollar products across multiple markets.
Solana is now the third blockchain network where MoneyGram operates an official validator. The company had already become an anchor remittance validator on Tempo and was named a validator for Midnight, Cardano’s privacy-focused sidechain. Earlier, MoneyGram worked with Ripple from 2019 to 2021, using RippleNet and XRP-based On-Demand Liquidity before that relationship ended after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued Ripple.