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Ripple Is Cashing Out a Third of Its Stake in MoneyGram

Published

1 Monat ago

November 28, 2020

Blockchain payments firm Ripple is selling roughly one-third of its stake in MoneyGram, in its first such sale of company stock since the startup invested in the remittance giant in 2019.

According to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Friday, Ripple owns 6.22 million shares of MoneyGram, or 8.6% of shares outstanding, plus a warrant to buy up to another 5.95 million shares, for a total equity position of 12.2 million shares, or 17% of MoneyGram’s shares outstanding.

Ripple is now selling up to 4 million shares, or approximately 33.3% of its entire stake, if you count the shares represented by the warrant. After the sale, Ripple will still own at least 3.22 million shares, or 4.44% of MoneyGram. When including the additional shares represented by the warrant, which gives Ripple the right to execute a stock buy at a predetermined price, the blockchain payments firm will still own about 11% of MoneyGram.

Under the terms of Ripple’s initial investment announce in June 2019, the company bought the shares in MoneyGram at $4.10 apiece, at a significant premium to their price at the time. Shares of MoneyGram have risen more than 260% this year, closing at $7.42 on Wednesday, meaning Ripple is netting a significant profit on its investment.

“Ripple is a proud partner in MoneyGram’s digital growth transformation. This is purely a judicious financial decision to realize some gains on Ripple’s MGI [MoneyGram International] investment and is in no way a reflection of the current state of our partnership,” a Ripple spokesperson told CoinDesk.

The sales are still in process, according to the spokesperson, who didn’t respond to an emailed question asking what the company intends to do with the proceeds from the stake sale.

Ripple completed the purchase of a $50 million equity stake in MoneyGram in November 2019.

As recently as the end of Q3 2020, Ripple had paid $9.3 million to MoneyGram, noted as “market development fees” on MoneyGram’s latest financial statement, for the remittance firm’s use of Ripple’s XRP-based settlement network, the On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) network (formerly known as xRapid).

MoneyGram has used this cross-border solution to conduct transactions in Europe, Australia and the Philippines since June 2019, for which Ripple has paid MoneyGram at least $52 million. The remittance firm piloted Ripple’s flagship cryptocurrency in 2018.

“We will remain a significant shareholder in MoneyGram following the sale – they are clearly a leader in the global payments space in over 200 countries and territories. In just over a year, we’ve made incredible progress and look forward to continuing to work alongside MoneyGram to transform cross-border payments,” the Ripple spokesperson said.

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Related Topics:cashing MoneyGram Ripple Stake

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Grayscale’s AUM Hits $19B, Up from $16.4B Announced Week Ago

Published

32 Minuten ago

Dezember 29, 2020

While it may be too early to project the possible performance of Grayscale in 2021, the spate of patronage the company recorded in the last two quarters of 2020 looks quite inspiring.

In what confirms the continued embrace of Bitcoin (BTC) and altcoins by institutional investors and the big-money clients, Grayscale’s total Assets Under Management (AUM) has been reported to top $19 billion, a significant uplift from the $16.4 billion reported a week ago. According to a report by CoinDesk, Grayscale hit this AUM milestone on December 28, and Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust holds by far the largest chunk of the total assets at $16.3 billion.

The recent rally of Bitcoin to new highs as recorded in the past days started as a chain reaction that took its precedent months ago when Wall Street firms and institutional investors began betting big on Bitcoin. The investment made by the likes of MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ: MSTR), Square Inc (NYSE: SQ), and PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL) did not just help put Bitcoin in the limelight through mainstream media, it also prompted the embrace of the digital assets by other firms.

With this chain reaction, the price of Bitcoin continued to soar in response to boosted demand for the coin, and institutions like Grayscale that serves institutional investors benefited from this new demand, and hence, the continued increase in the firm’s AUM. Besides BTC, Grayscale’s Ethereum (ETH) AUM is now worth $2.1 billion, while the bulk of smaller holdings in Litecoin (LTC), XRP, and ZCash amongst others helped Grayscale’s total AUM to reach the new milestone.

Grayscale’s AUM May See More Boost in 2021

While it may be too early to project the possible performance of Grayscale in the coming year 2021, the spate of patronage the company recorded in the last two quarters of 2020 makes the case for improved performance provided the tempo is sustained.

Just as has been noted earlier, the continued embrace of cryptocurrency assets by highly liquid companies will continue to have a positive reaction on the price of Bitcoin, and by extension, this will even make more people pick interest in BTC. As a relatively young asset class, Bitcoin and altcoins have tremendous room to grow as the adoption rate is still not optimized owing to certain regulatory provisions in most countries, Grayscale and other hedge funds have enough room to compete for new clients entering the space.

With Grayscale been among the institutions at the forefront of helping to drive the acceptance of BTC, ETH, and other digital currencies, enjoying the dividends of its works through impressed AUM figures does not come as much of a surprise.

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Benjamin Godfrey is a blockchain enthusiast and journalists who relish writing about the real life applications of blockchain technology and innovations to drive general acceptance and worldwide integration of the emerging technology. His desires to educate people about cryptocurrencies inspires his contributions to renowned blockchain based media and sites. Benjamin Godfrey is a lover of sports and agriculture.

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Market

eToro Said to Be in Talks With Goldman About Possible $5B IPO: Report

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1 Stunde ago

Dezember 29, 2020

The crypto trading/investment management platform is also considering the possibility of a merger with a special purpose acquisition company.

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Altcoin Rally Dimming Bitcoin’s Shine, Polkadot Gains 34% in One Week

Published

2 Stunden ago

Dezember 29, 2020

Polkadot (DOT) saw daily gains of 22.5% wrapping up an impressive week with an almost 34% rise in its value.

Bitcoin bullish run looks to have come to a halt amidst an altcoin rally which has seen relatively lower coins put up impressive performances in the past few weeks. Bitcoin dominance is gradually fading as many experts believe the biggest digital coin is backing down as some top altcoin are showing strong “moves” or signals.

Bitcoin hit an all-time high over the weekend, the third time its price has done so in just over 2 months. The price of the biggest digital coin touched $28,400 on December 27, before a lightning drop took it to $27,000 just hours of that incredible feat.

Bitcoin failed to hold onto the $27,000 mark as its price further dropped to $26,000 a day after and is now testing lower levels centered on $26,000 as immediate support. Reports from crypto exchanges revealed BTC/USD trading at lows of $25,830 during the early hours of December 29.

While Bitcoin has seen red over a couple of days, some altcoins are putting up impressive numbers, giving off signals of a strong altcoin rally. Despite XRP’s current issues, the altcoin market is showing glimpses of its glory days as some digital coins are poised to see major gains over the next couple of weeks. Ethereum (ETH) is at the forefront of the rally, with its price climbing above $700 for the first time since May 2018.

Polkadot (DOT) also saw daily gains of 22.5% wrapping up an impressive week with an almost 34% rise in its value. The coin is now the seventh-largest token by market cap. Kusama (KSM), a cousin of Polkadot, also saw its price gain 46% last week, pushing its price from $43.1 to $63. The digital token is currently trading at $56 but experts are adamant a breakout above $65 is possible as the token has rebounded off the 20-day exponential moving average ($50.90)

Speaking on the possibility of a long term altcoin rally, analyst Van de Poppe stated that altcoins are next in line to see greens. He added that the next “impulse wave” on Bitcoin next year should be able to take the market to $40,000 or $50,000, but until then, the possibility of a continuance altcoin rally is very much likely.

Although many factors could be in play with regards to the latest Bitcoin price dip, it’s recent fallout with Ripple’s XRP leads the way. Ripple was hit with a lawsuit from the United States Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) and subsequently suffered drops that left its price in a pit. XRP, the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, is now trading at $0.20 as news broke that Coinbase, a major US cryptocurrency exchange has decided to suspend its trading from next month.

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Crypto fanatic, writer and researcher. Thinks that Blockchain is second to a digital camera on the list of greatest inventions.

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