Investment banking giant Goldman Sachs has sold a stake worth $6.5 million in MoneyGram, the remittance partner of Ripple, according to details of a new filing.
MoneyGram provides liquidity for Ripple’s XRP settlement layer, and has worked with Ripple since it began testing the digital currency for international payments back in 2018.
Goldman and its subsidiaries informed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the sale of Series D Preferred Stock in MoneyGram in early August, which saw the company offload 14,000 shares at a value of $6.5 million.
The valuation is based on the shares being converted into 1.8 million units of common stock, which at current Nasdaq trading prices equates to the $6.5 million valuation.
Since 2019, MoneyGram has received payments of over $40 million from Ripple Labs for providing liquidity, an essential service for Ripple’s On-Demand Liquidity network. The sale from Goldman comes just months after Ripple bought a stake in MoneyGram, reported to be worth $50 million, in a transaction completed last November.
The sell-off represents about half of Goldman Sachs’ stake in MoneyGram, with the bank still holding well in excess of 18 million units of common stock. This means Goldman remains a more significant owner of MoneyGram than Ripple itself, even in spite of the sale.
It remains uncertain why Goldman chose to sell off its stake in the partner company, though some have speculated it could be a sign of dwindling confidence in the long-term future of MoneyGram and Ripple.
After initially voicing doubts about companies like Ripple and digital assets, Goldman Sachs has become outwardly more positive on digital currencies in recent years. The firm now has an active interest in digital currency and blockchain investments, including in firms such as MoneyGram.
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