Stellar has announced that it is investing in MoneyGram International, also known as MGI in short, through its Development Foundation. Stellar Development Foundation, often referred to as SDF, will hail the investment opportunity just 2 years after they executed their commercial agreement.

The reason why their historical collaboration has taken center stage at the moment is because that is the same thing that enabled Stellar to gain access to the future plans of MoneyGram.

Needless to say, they were pretty impressed with what MoneyGram had the potential to do in terms of digital transformation and execution. That gave them the confidence to grab any opportunity which came their way.
Years later and the investment aligns with that historic judgment.

Stellar Development Foundation will now take a more active role in MoneyGram International. Possibly, an even more active role if another opportunity comes to light.

Stellar Development Foundation is now officially a minority investor, courtesy of the private transaction with MDF, short for Madison Dearborn Partners. The investment was rolled out of the Foundation’s own cash treasury.

This makes the investment one of its kind. Another option was to leverage the Enterprise Fund.

MoneyGram will use the funds to expand its digital business, explore the potential of blockchain technology, and find ways to grow the company.

The investment made to MoneyGram International has also granted the Foundation a spot on the Board of Directors. It also has leaders from the financial, technological, and payment industries.

Stellar has called this an exciting time for both companies, adding that there is definitely an opportunity for growth. Stellar and MoneyGram are now looking forward to the utilization of the investment and building more such partnerships in the future with the goal it puts Stellar Development Foundation a step closer to achieving equitable access to financial services.

GO STELLAR! 🙂🙂🙂

In a groundbreaking move, Amazon, the world-renowned e-commerce titan, has announced a strategic partnership with Ripple, a pioneering cryptocurrency company. This collaboration aims to bring Ripple’s XRP token into the heart of Amazon’s payment operations, potentially reshaping the landscape of global online commerce.

Amazon’s recent decision to adopt Ripple’s technology signifies the increasing acknowledgment and approval of cryptocurrencies as a valid method of conducting financial transactions. This move by the leading industry company can potentially push cryptocurrencies, particularly XRP, into common usage. Additionally, this partnership allows Amazon users to make seamless, speedy, and cost-efficient transactions.

Reactions within the cryptocurrency community to the Amazon-Ripple collaboration have been varied. While specific individuals perceive the partnership as potentially insignificant, referencing the current state of the announcement, others foresee the possibility of additional disclosures emerging soon. The exact details of the arrangement are still veiled in secrecy, creating a space for conjecture and eagerness.

The underlying goal of Ripple Labs is committed: to pave the way for a future where cryptocurrencies seamlessly coexist with traditional fiat money, reshaping global transactions.

Bright prospects lie ahead for Ripple and its native cryptocurrency, XRP. As this partnership sets the stage for a new era of financial interactions, Ripple could emerge as a dominant force in the ever-evolving realm of cryptocurrencies. 😁😁😁

The stage is set, and the world watches this transformative saga unfold to pave the way for a future where cryptocurrencies seamlessly coexist with traditional fiat money, reshaping global transactions. 😂😂😂

“The stage is set!” 🕺🕺🕺🕺
Story by Tronweekly

Coinbase to sell crypto futures in the US

Coinbase Global Inc. has been authorized to directly sell cryptocurrency derivatives to retail consumers in the US. According to a company spokesperson, the offering will be launched within a few weeks.

Coinbase has been working to push derivatives for some time. It applied for National Futures Association (NFA) authorization almost two years ago.

In early 2022, it bought the FairX futures exchange, which was already registered with US regulators. Renamed Coinbase Derivatives Exchange, it currently directs traders to buy futures from third parties such as brokers.

But once it receives NFA authorization, Coinbase will be able to provide these same derivatives to users directly, initially through the main Coinbase app.

The company has recently introduced derivatives overseas. In May, it announced the launch of Coinbase International Exchange, which allows institutional users located in eligible jurisdictions outside the US to trade perpetual futures. According to the website, trading volume on the international exchange totaled $2.52 billion over the past 30 days.

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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has recently come under scrutiny from members of the House Financial Services Committee (HFSC). These politicians, led by Committee chair Patrick McHenry (R-NC), have expressed concerns over the SEC’s approval of Prometheum, a relatively unknown crypto broker. The Republicans on the Committee have labeled this approval as “shady” and are vocally questioning the timing of this decision, given the broader context of cryptocurrency regulation in the United States.

It’s worth mentioning that during the same month FINRA approved Prometheum, the HFSC held hearings specifically related to the legislation of digital assets.

The goal was to create definitive guidelines for the types of crypto assets over which the SEC would have jurisdiction. SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, who maintains that the current securities laws are sufficient and clearly defined, has used Prometheum’s approval to illustrate that there is a clear route for existing companies to achieve compliance.

As a final note, the HFSC has demanded that the SEC and FINRA disclose all documents and communications pertaining to Prometheum’s approval. They have set a deadline for this disclosure: 5 pm on August 22, which is exactly one week from today.

In this unfolding situation, the HFSC is clearly urging for transparency and clarity, challenging what they perceive to be a dubious approval process by the SEC.

With OpenAI launching its artificial intelligence (AI) tool ChatGPT, the ensuing hype has given birth to other powerful AI platforms, including Google Bard, which has proven itself useful in cryptocurrency market analysis, including comparisons between assets like Stellar(XLM) and XRP.

As it happens, Finbold asked Google Bard to provide a comparison table on XRP and Stellar, from both a utility and investment point of view, as well as to pick one of them to invest in and substantiate its choice with meaningful arguments, to which it expressed a preference for Stellar.🕺

Specifically, it provided detailed insights on both Stellar and the XRP token but concluded it would rather choose to invest in Stellar, arguing it had “a lot of potential to disrupt the financial industry and provide affordable and accessible financial services to people around the world.”

Furthermore, Bard said it liked the fact that “Stellar is more decentralized,” which makes XRP “more vulnerable to a single point of failure,” as well as that “XLM “has a more community-driven approach,” even though “XRP has a larger and more active community.”

However, it also said a larger, more active community could be a disadvantage “as it can make XRP more susceptible to price manipulation.”🤣

On top of that, Bard said XRP was more scalable than Stellar, making it “a better choice for high-volume applications, such as cross-border payments between banks.” That said, “XRP is more volatile than Stellar, and it is also facing a lawsuit from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission” as the AI tool noted. 🤩

Finally, it observed that “XLM is a newer and more innovative project than XRP.” 🥳🥳🥳