$50 Million Partner MoneyGram Joins Stellar as Tier 1 Validator

MoneyGram, a payments giant based in Dallas, Texas, has become a Tier 1 validator on the Stellar network. This move comes five years after MoneyGram first partnered with Stellar and is part of its growing commitment to blockchain technology. In addition to MoneyGram, borrowing platform Figure Markets and wealth management platform Range will also begin operating as Tier 1 validators by mid-August.

Becoming a validator requires maintaining the blockchain's integrity by verifying transactions and participating in network consensus. On Stellar, Tier 1 validators operate multiple geographically distributed nodes and participate in the Stellar Consensus Protocol. Each validator independently selects trusted participants to reach agreement on the ledger's state.

MoneyGram was previously one of Ripple's highest-profile enterprise partners, having partnered with them in 2019 through a $50 million investment. However, after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued Ripple in December 2020, MoneyGram suspended its use of Ripple's On-Demand Liquidity service and pivoted to Stellar.