MoneyGram taps Fireblocks for global stablecoin settlements

  • MoneyGram adopts Fireblocks for instant, low-cost stablecoin payments.
  • The partnership enhances liquidity, treasury, and multi-chain stablecoin settlements.
  • Programmable infrastructure supports real-time global money transfers.

MoneyGram has partnered with Fireblocks to enhance its global payments network using stablecoins, marking a significant step toward faster, more efficient, and real-time cross-border financial flows.

The collaboration reflects the growing role of digital currencies in mainstream finance and highlights MoneyGram’s push to modernize traditional payment systems while maintaining compliance and reliability.

Strengthening global payments with stablecoins

Through the partnership, Fireblocks will provide MoneyGram with a secure stablecoin infrastructure and a programmable settlement layer, enabling near-instant transactions across multiple blockchains.

This technology is designed to streamline the movement of funds, improve liquidity management, and optimize treasury operations, allowing MoneyGram to offer faster, lower-cost services to its customers around the world.

MoneyGram serves over 50 million people annually, connecting more than 200 countries and territories, with nearly half a million retail locations and billions of digital endpoints.

The integration of Fireblocks’ infrastructure will allow MoneyGram to move value across its vast network with enhanced efficiency while continuing to navigate complex regulatory landscapes in each market.

By leveraging Fireblocks’ capabilities, the company can consolidate its early investments in digital currency on/off-ramps, stablecoin-backed consumer features, and crypto compliance infrastructure into a scalable solution.

Anthony Soohoo, MoneyGram’s Chairman and CEO, emphasized that the partnership enables a new era of money movement, where funds can flow instantly across both fiat and stablecoin rails.

Notably, MoneyGram’s move reflects a broader trend of traditional financial institutions integrating blockchain-based solutions to modernize cross-border payments.

Soohoo noted that Fireblocks’ secure and programmable infrastructure is critical to transforming global payments at scale and meeting the growing expectations of consumers for speed, transparency, and cost efficiency.

Boosting speed and efficiency in payments

The collaboration also strengthens MoneyGram’s treasury operations, enabling real-time monitoring of liquidity, pre-funding mechanisms with partners, and streamlined reconciliation processes.

Fireblocks’ programmable settlement layer supports conditional transactions and more resilient liquidity pathways, providing MoneyGram with the flexibility to introduce new features over time without disrupting user experience or compliance protocols.

Luke Tuttle, MoneyGram’s Chief Product and Technology Officer, highlighted that the partnership is built to support both sides of the payment equation.

Senders increasingly expect faster and cheaper transfers, while receivers are holding funds longer in digital wallets and demanding instant availability of money.

Fireblocks’ infrastructure ensures that MoneyGram can meet these needs globally, providing a reliable backbone for stablecoin operations at scale.

Michael Shaulov, CEO of Fireblocks, described the collaboration as a rebuild of cross-border settlement rails in real time.

By adopting multi-chain, programmable infrastructure, the partnership enhances the speed and reliability of global payments, addressing the needs of millions of users who rely on these transfers daily.

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Aster (ASTER) price rebounds as 2026 roadmap unveiled: will bulls target $1.50 next?

  • Aster price could rally above $1 as the team unveils its 2026 roadmap.
  • The token hit highs of $2.42 as the decentralized exchange platform outpaced its peers.
  • Aster eyes a testnet, real-world asset upgrade, and native token staking.

Decentralized exchange platform Aster sees its price change hands at $1.04, having bounced off lows of $0.88.

While the DEX token is down 2% in the past 24 hours, buyers might target fresh upside action after the Aster team unveiled its highly anticipated roadmap for the first half of 2026.

The roadmap’s ambitious plans, with a focus on infrastructure, token utility, and community engagement, have the market excited about the token’s price potential.

Significantly, these new network goals come after a year of notable achievements for Aster.

Aster releases outline for 2026 roadmap

Aster has a robust ecosystem and community, despite being a relatively new project across the market.

Partnerships and key buyback initiatives have helped ASTER price, and on December 4, the team announced its upcoming roadmap.

The perpetuals and spot trading platform’s plan highlights a series of milestones starting in late 2025.

It includes the introduction of Shield Mode for private high-leverage trading and TWAP (Time-Weighted Average Price) strategy orders in early December.

Mid-December will see an upgrade to real-world asset (RWA) trading with deeper stock perpetual markets, followed by the launch of the Aster Chain testnet by the end of the month.

In 2026, the Aster Chain Layer 1 (L1) mainnet rolls out. This Q1 launch will be accompanied by fiat on/off-ramp capabilities and the Aster Code platform for developers.

According to the project, Q2 will introduce ASTER staking, on-chain governance, and smart-money tools to replicate top traders’ strategies.

“2025 was about proving Aster can ship: we merged Astherus & ApolloX, launched multi-asset margin, released our mobile app, completed TGE, listed on major CEXs, and introduced features like Hedge Mode, Trade & Earn, and our buyback program, and more,” the team wrote. “Now we’re doubling down on three foundational engines—Infrastructure, Token Utility, and Ecosystem & Community—each reinforcing the others in a continuous cycle.”

Aster sees this multifaceted approach as part of the commitment to build a scalable network that evolves with its users.

What’s the potential impact on Aster price?

ASTER exploded to an all-time high of $2.42 in September 2025, and the current price is off this peak by about 56%. Despite sell-off risk to under $1, bulls are up more than 1,140% since touching lows of $0.084 on Sept. 17, 2025.

Notably, the unveiling of Aster’s 2026 roadmap for Q1 and Q2 has ignited speculation about the potential impact on the token’s price.

From a technical analysis point of view, the DEX token looks to be poised for an upward move.

The daily chart shows a breakout from a key downtrend line.

Aster Price Chart
Aster price chart by TradingView

Both RSI and MACD indicators on the daily chart indicate a bearish outlook.

However, with the price above the downtrend line, fresh momentum could allow bulls to target $1.38. A potential surge toward $1.50 and $2.06 will open up a run to a new all-time high.

Should bullish momentum dissipate, flipped sentiment could allow for a revisit of the lows of $0.81.

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CoinDCX data reveals India’s rising appetite for diversified digital assets

  • CoinDCX users now hold an average of five tokens, up from two to three previously.
  • Women investors doubled year on year with broader diversification trends.
  • Millennials remain the dominant user base as the average age rises to 32.

Indian crypto investors are showing a stronger preference for diversified digital asset portfolios, marking an early shift toward more deliberate and long-term allocation behaviour.

CoinDCX’s annual report, released on Thursday, suggests that the country’s retail investor base is gradually moving away from the idea that crypto is synonymous with Bitcoin, signalling broader maturity in market participation in 2025.

This trend reflects a market becoming more confident, curious, and willing to explore varied opportunities across the expanding digital ecosystem.

The exchange found that the average user now holds around five tokens, compared with two to three in 2022.

This steady expansion of holdings indicates a growing awareness of portfolio construction and a willingness to explore different parts of the crypto market beyond the most established assets.

Layer-1 tokens lead activity

CoinDCX reported that layer-1 assets accounted for 43.3% of portfolio volumes.

Bitcoin, priced at $93,133, held a 26.5% share of allocations. Memecoins made up 11.8% of user portfolios, showing that speculative interest remains a part of broader diversification trends.

According to the exchange, Indian traders have become increasingly comfortable navigating different digital asset categories as adoption widens across the country.

The report noted that crypto is emerging as a natural extension of the financial products already familiar to many users.

Millennials dominate participation

The platform’s user base is ageing upward, with the average trader now 32 years old. Millennials continue to make up the majority of users, outpacing Gen Z in adoption, though younger traders remain active.

Gen Z users, aged 18 to 24, tend to favour emerging narratives such as layer-2 ecosystems, memecoins, and non-fungible tokens. Their behaviour reflects a greater appetite for thematic or speculative sectors.

CoinDCX also saw its number of women investors double year on year. These users are diversifying beyond Bitcoin and Ether, priced at $3,183, into tokens such as Solana at $143.04 and Sui at $1.67.

Founded in 2018 and backed by Coinbase, CoinDCX is one of India’s largest crypto exchanges with more than 20 million registered users. It remains a key gateway for retail access to digital assets.

India shows wide but shallow adoption

CoinDCX noted that India continues to lead in early indicators of digital asset awareness, including mobile-first trading behaviour and high engagement across educational content on the platform.

These signals reflect strong nationwide interest in crypto as a financial category.

However, the exchange found that deeper, research-driven participation remains limited. Many users enter the market through popular assets or trending narratives rather than sustained ecosystem involvement.

As a result, the platform characterised India’s adoption as “wide” but not yet “deep”.

CoinDCX said the country is still in the early stages of its digital asset journey, leaving significant room for education, innovation, and long-term growth as user sophistication develops.

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