MoneyGram Becomes a Validator on the Solana Network

MoneyGram, the world's second-largest money transfer company, has become a validator on the Solana network, deepening its blockchain infrastructure strategy.

The company confirmed it has launched a validator node on Solana and joined the Solana Developer Platform as an infrastructure partner. As a validator, MoneyGram can now stake SOL tokens, process blocks, and take part directly in securing the network.

500,000 Locations Connect On-Chain

The move links MoneyGram's global footprint, nearly 500,000 retail locations serving more than 60 million customers, to Solana's on-chain infrastructure. Luke Tuttle, Chief Product and Technology Officer at MoneyGram, said running a validator places the company inside Solana's consensus layer, effectively helping it operate the rails it uses to move money.

MoneyGram described the move as a continuation of a five-year strategy to build crypto into its core payments platform. That strategy began in 2019 with a partnership with RippleNet, through which the company processed billions of transactions using XRP-based liquidity products, an arrangement wound down after Ripple's legal dispute with the SEC in 2021.

A Third Validator Network

Solana is now the third network where MoneyGram runs a validator. In May, the company was named one of a select group of institutions running a validator for remittance transactions on the Tempo network. It is also an early node operator on the Midnight network, launched in March 2026 by Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson.

The timing follows a period of strong institutional adoption for Solana. The network recently overtook every other blockchain in real-world asset wallet holders, reaching 285,971 holders in June 2026, ahead of Ethereum and BNB Chain.

A Broader Stablecoin Push

The Solana announcement follows MoneyGram's launch of MGUSD, a US dollar-backed stablecoin built on the Stellar network, now available to US customers through the MoneyGram mobile app.

Chairman and CEO Anthony Soohoo described the Solana move as part of an ongoing build-out. He said MoneyGram has spent several years integrating blockchain into its payment infrastructure and that everything the company is building now relies on that foundation. That same institutional capital rotation toward blockchain and AI infrastructure also runs through Nvidia's record bond offering and the parallel shift among Bitcoin miners toward AI infrastructure.

The regulatory backdrop is also shifting in favor of moves like this one. The CLARITY Act, nearing passage as America's first comprehensive federal crypto law, would give traditional financial institutions clearer legal ground to deepen commitments like MoneyGram's Solana validator role.