MoneyGram rolled out support for crypto-to-fiat withdrawals, using its extensive cash pickup network in about 100 countries and Kraken’s liquidity and compliance infrastructure.
According to an announcement on Tuesday, Kraken users will now be able to "access instant or near-instant payouts in cash” at about 500,000 MoneyGram kiosks. Fortune, which reported the news first, said the kiosks will charge “variable fees."
"Digital assets only matter at scale when they can interoperate with the financial systems people already depend on," Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi said. "By integrating Kraken’s liquidity, exchange and compliance infrastructure with MoneyGram’s global payout network, we are building a scalable bridge between digital asset markets and local cash economies."
Kraken and MoneyGram plan to expand this partnership beyond cash withdrawals to support local bank deposits and cross-border remittance flows, according to the announcement.
MoneyGram has longstanding ties to the crypto industry. Late last year, the payments giant tapped Fireblocks to power stablecoin settlements for global wires. It has also expressed interest in physical crypto onramps before, having invested in Bitcoin ATM Coinme, which was acquired by Polygon.
Earlier this week, Kraken parent company Payward completed its acquisition of derivatives exchange Bitnomial, enabling it to offer crypto derivatives in the U.S., part of its strategy to expand beyond its core crypto exchange business. In March, the company was granted a Fed Master account, marking a first for the crypto industry.
Payward has been gearing up for a potential public listing, having confidentially submitted a draft S-1 registration statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in November and recently taking on a $200 million investment from major European stock exchange operator Deutsche Borse Group.