Moneygram to enable users to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrency via mobile app

Global digital peer-to-peer (P2P) payments company MoneyGram has announced on Nov. 1 that users in nearly all U.S. states and the District of Columbia, can buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrency; specifically, Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Litecoin (LTC), via its MoneyGram mobile app. 

The digital payments company said that it plans to add more digital currencies to its app in 2023, as global regulations allow.

Alex Holmes, Chairman and CEO of MoneyGram, stated:

“As consumer interest in digital currencies continues to accelerate, we are uniquely positioned to meet that demand and bridge the gap between blockchain and traditional financial services thanks to our global network, leading compliance solutions, and strong culture of fintech innovation.”

The rollout of this latest crypto-related initiative is a part of the company’s vision to increase adoption by bringing “real-world cryptocurrency and blockchain use cases to life.” Moneygram shared that this crypto addition to its app was made possible through its partnership with licensed crypto exchange and API-driven crypto-as-a-service provider, Coinme.

Related: Paypal’s crypto ‘super app’ set to roll out soon

Despite being in a bear market with no clear end in sight, some companies appear to be laying t foundations to expand into the crypto world. On Oct 25, Cointelegraph reported that Western Union filed three trademarks that covered managing digital wallets, exchanging digital assets and commodities derivatives, issuing tokens of value, and brokerage and insurance services.

Also in October, the mobile payment processing app, Cash App, added support for transactions via the Bitcoin Lightning Network. The new feature is set to allow Cash App users to send and receive Bitcoin(BTC) on the faster, more efficient layer-2 protocol.