Just recently, Ripple inked a deal with MoneyGram, an international money transfer company that has been in business for decades. The deal saw Ripple invest about $30 million in MoneyGram, a move that saw Ripple acquire a 10% stake in the company. Around $20 million more is planned to be pumped in over the next 2 years.
Ripple is the producer of XRP, a fairly popular cryptocurrency that now sits at position 3 on the charts – in terms of market capitalization. Ripple has been making huge efforts to partner with as many financial institutions as possible. These entities join Ripple’s RippleNet and get to use their advanced payment solutions like xCurrent and xRapid.
MoneyGram Using XRP
However, it’s not the deal between Ripple and MoneyGram that’s making the buzz waves within the crypto world. It’s the fact that MoneyGram has expressed interest in using xRapid and adopting XRP as the base currency for cross-border payments.
That’s definitely a big deal for XRP, effectively putting the crypto way ahead of Libra. According to the CEO, MoneyGram’s deal with Ripple will have much more impact on the markets than Libra.
Over the 12 months prior to the deal, MoneyGram’s shares had dropped by 80%, but the value picked up and shot up to 168% shortly after the deal. That suggests that Ripple’s move and MoneyGram’s interest in XRP is a huge deal.
Ripple plans to ink more partnerships and acquire stakes in more companies. In fact, the company is already welcome about 2 new customers every week.
XRapid Volumes Are Going Up
For one, xRapid’s volumes have been increasing ever since Ripple released the payment solution. The volumes went up 170% between the first and second quarters of 2019. CEO Brad Garlinghouse expects xRapid volumes to surpass $1 billion by next year (2020).
