Moneygram Announces Strategic Investment in Coinme—Boasts New Crypto Opportunities

Behemoth payments company Moneygram International Inc. announced yesterday that it “has completed a strategic minority investment in Coinme, a leading cryptocurrency cash exchange in the U.S.” This investment gives the payments company approximately a 4% ownership stake in Coinme. Commenting on the latest development, the chairman and CEO of Moneygram, Alex Holmes, noted that:

“At Moneygram, we continue to be bullish on the vast opportunities that exist in the ever-growing world of cryptocurrency and our ability to operate as a compliant bridge to connect digital assets to local fiat currency.”

Moneygram’s investment will allow the crypto company to expand its operations outwards—into other countries—and carry out other growth initiatives.

Established in 2014 in the US, Coinme currently runs operations in 48 states in America and plans to take its services overseas in the near future. The crypto company previously partnered with Coinstar, an automated crypto services provider that aims to convert their fiat coins into paper cash, to support Bitcoin purchases at over 21,000 Coinstar kiosks. With a customer base of about 150 million people, Moneygram’s Coinme acquisition could significantly bolster the Coinme and Coinstar partnership.

Moneygram and Coinme Share a Similar Vision

According to the official announcement, Moneygram and Coinme share a “vision to expand access to digital assets and cryptocurrencies.” Moneygram’s CEO also detailed that:

“As we accelerate our innovation efforts, partnerships with startups like Coinme will further our position as the industry leader in the utilization of blockchain and similar technologies.

Our unique cash-to-bitcoin offering with Coinme, announced in May of 2021, opened our business to an entirely new customer segment, and we couldn’t be more pleased with our progress.”

Furthermore, the payments giant announced in May last year that both companies plan “to create a crypto-to-cash model by building a bridge to connect bitcoin to local fiat currency.” The new collaboration would allow Moneygram’s customers access to Bitcoin trading spots on over 12,000 locations.