MoneyGram and Western Union Are Both Building on Solana — Here’s Why

TLDR

• MoneyGram has joined the Solana blockchain as an active validator, helping process transactions and secure the network.
• The company also joined the Solana Developer Platform, alongside other institutions like Mastercard.
• MoneyGram launched its own stablecoin, MGUSD, on the Stellar blockchain weeks earlier via a partnership with Stripe-owned Bridge.
• Western Union, MoneyGram’s biggest rival, launched its own Solana-based stablecoin in May 2026.
• Both of the world’s largest remittance companies are now building on Solana.

MoneyGram has taken a direct role in running the Solana blockchain by becoming an active validator on the network.

The global payments company announced the move on June 22, 2026. As a validator, MoneyGram now helps process transaction blocks and secure Solana’s proof-of-stake network — not just use it.

The company has been working with blockchain technology for more than five years. But this step puts MoneyGram inside the network’s core infrastructure, not just on top of it.

What a Solana Validator Does

On Solana’s proof-of-stake network, validators stake SOL tokens and process blocks of transactions. They are essential to keeping the network running and secure.

In short, MoneyGram has gone from being a customer of the rails to helping operate them.

MoneyGram also joined the Solana Developer Platform, an API-driven, AI-ready platform built for institutions creating regulated financial products on Solana. Mastercard is among other early participants.

MoneyGram’s Stablecoin Strategy

Just weeks before the validator announcement, MoneyGram launched its own stablecoin called MGUSD on the Stellar blockchain through a partnership with Bridge, a company owned by Stripe.

The company has also joined Tempo, a payments-focused blockchain, as an anchor validator.

Soohoo added that the future of global money movement will be built on open, interoperable stablecoin rails that anyone can access.

The company says it is not tied to a single blockchain. Its strategy spans Solana, Stellar, and Tempo, with a focus on keeping money movement open across systems.

Western Union, MoneyGram’s main rival, launched its own Solana-based stablecoin called USDPT in May 2026.

That means the two biggest names in cross-border remittances are now both building on Solana — a clear shift in where the payments industry is placing its bets.

The Solana Foundation’s GM of Payments, Sheraz Shere, welcomed the move. “Players like MoneyGram, with global scale and experience serving customers across markets, are engaging with Solana as more payments activity moves onchain,” he said.

MoneyGram’s entry into Solana’s validator set adds a large, regulated institution to the network’s infrastructure at a time when stablecoin use inside traditional finance is growing.

The company says it now brings compliance infrastructure, regulatory clarity, and operational scale to the blockchain it helps run.

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