MoneyGram launches MGUSD stablecoin on Stellar

MoneyGram launched MGUSD, a US dollar stablecoin on the Stellar network and integrated it into its mobile app through a self-custodial wallet. Users can hold dollar-denominated balances, move funds across borders and convert those balances into local currencies. The launch begins in the United States, with plans to expand internationally.

The token issuance is handled by Bridge, Stripe’s stablecoin platform. Bridge received conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in February to operate as a federally chartered national trust bank. The mint-and-burn smart contract logic for MGUSD is provided by M0, and wallet infrastructure is supplied by Fireblocks.

MoneyGram said the stablecoin builds on its ongoing partnership with the Stellar Development Foundation and expands its capabilities for issuing digital-dollar balances and using on-chain networks for remittances.

A 2026 Bank for International Settlements paper noted that cross-border payments remain more costly, slower and less transparent than domestic systems. World Bank data for the third quarter of 2025 showed the average cost to send $200 internationally was 6.36 percent, about $12.72 in fees and foreign-exchange margins. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal target for such transfers is 3 percent.

Stablecoins can reduce the blockchain settlement portion of a transfer to a tiny fraction of a cent. Stellar’s documentation lists a minimum network fee of 100 stroops, or 0.00001 XLM, which is roughly $0.000002 per operation. End-to-end transfer costs still depend on on-ramps and off-ramps, foreign-exchange spreads and local payout fees.

The broader stablecoin market had a market capitalization near $320 billion. A September 2025 Citi forecast projected stablecoin issuance could reach a base case of $1.9 trillion by 2030.

MoneyGram has announced recent partnerships tied to crypto and blockchain rails. On May 5 it teamed with the Kraken exchange to let users convert crypto into cash for pickup across about 100 countries. On May 20 the company partnered with Tempo, a Stripe-incubated blockchain initiative, to support stablecoin settlement and help validate remittance transactions. A competitor, Western Union, began rolling out its USDPT stablecoin on Solana on May 5 in Bolivia and the Philippines, with plans to expand to more countries in 2026.

MoneyGram plans to scale MGUSD to more markets as regulatory and operational conditions permit.