MoneyGram Buys 4% Stake in Crypto ATM Operator Coinme

Money transfer network MoneyGram has now made a minority investment in crypto ATM operator Coinme following a Series A funding round.

In a statement on Wednesday, MoneyGram said it bought about a 4 percent stake in Coinme as part of a strategic investment in the crypto firm — a significant amount considering the company was valued at $19.1 million in June. An investment could exceed $764,000. Previously, the two companies reached a cooperation in May 2021 aimed at expanding the use of cryptocurrency-fiat currency exchanges.

Alex Holmes, CEO of MoneyGram, said: "We continue to be bullish on the enormous opportunity that exists in the growing world of cryptocurrencies and our ability to operate as a compliant bridge between digital assets and local fiat currencies. Our investment in Coinme is further strengthened strengthens our partnership and advances our shared vision of expanding the use of digital assets and cryptocurrencies."

Currently, MoneyGram users in the U.S. can exchange their bitcoin and cryptocurrency holdings for cash at points of sale. The Coinme website reports that more than 23,000 ATMs have been deployed in the United States, including MoneyGram and Coinstar.

While MoneyGram appears to have ended its partnership with Coinme — currently only operating in the U.S. — it has scaled back its partnership with blockchain-based payments firm Ripple Labs in 2021. The two companies signed a strategic partnership agreement in 2019 to process billions of dollars in funds through Ripple's RippleNet and on-demand liquidity services. However, MoneyGram suspended the partnership in February 2021 after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against Ripple for securities violations.

As of this writing, MoneyGram stock (MGI) was trading at $7.55, down about 2.5% over the past 24 hours.

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