- Solana announced a deal with Western Union for its USDPT stablecoin, but experts doubt its impact.
- Crypto partnerships with traditional finance, especially in remittances, often fail to produce meaningful results.
- Ripple and Stellar have a history of high-profile partnerships that saw little on-chain use.
- Studies show crypto remittance initiatives face technical challenges and resistance from traditional institutions.
- A 2025 OECD report states blockchain likely cannot solve last-mile cash delivery problems.
This week, Solana announced an exclusive partnership with remittance company Western Union to use its USDPT stablecoin. Despite the announcement, researchers remain skeptical about whether this partnership will generate significant results. Similar past announcements in the crypto space often lead to brief excitement but limited follow-through.
Over the last decade, partnerships between crypto firms and traditional finance, particularly in remittances, have frequently faded after their initial launch. For example, Ripple issued numerous press releases to promote XRP, including a US Securities and Exchange Commission complaint alleging the company sold over $2 billion in unregistered securities through XRP sales. Ripple disputed this claim but lost a case involving $728 million worth of XRP sold to institutions.
Protos has documented several of Ripple’s underwhelming deals with companies like FairFX, RationalFX, UnionPay, and MoneyGram, among others. Similarly, Stellar, founded by former Ripple co-founder Jed McCaleb, made announcements such as partnering with IBM’s World Wire for cross-border payments. However, IBM has since open-sourced the project and largely abandoned it.
Stellar’s collaboration with Wyre to build crypto on- and off-ramps ended when Wyre ceased operations in June 2023. Additionally, a pilot program with MoneyGram to develop a Stellar-based non-custodial wallet was delayed; MoneyGram shifted focus towards an app supporting USDC transfers instead. Although USDC mostly operates on Ethereum, Solana, and Binance Smart Chain, a small amount transacts on Stellar’s network.
A 2019 study on Ripple’s remittance partnerships found that despite initial hopes, true integration with financial systems remained elusive. A 2024 analysis further reported that these crypto remittance ventures often face technical difficulties and reluctance from established financial players. Moreover, a 2025 OECD working paper concluded that blockchain technology is unlikely to resolve the challenge of distributing cash in the last phase of remittances.
For more detailed information, see Solana’s announcement, the SEC complaint against Ripple, Stellar-IBM partnership blog, and the OECD working paper.
✅ Follow BITNEWSBOT on Telegram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X.com, and Google News for instant updates.
Previous Articles:
- Ethereum Foundation launches new platform targeting institutions as Wall Street advances crypto – DL News
- Crypto IPOs 2025: Circle, Galaxy Digital Lead Gains, eToro Drops
- Federal Reserve Cuts Rates 0.25%, Bitcoin Dips Amid Uncertainty
- New AI Cloaking Attack Threatens Agentic Browser Security
- Michael Saylor of Strategy (MSTR) Forecasts Bitcoin Surge to $150,000
