Western Union has chosen Solana because the unique blockchain for its forthcoming US greenback–pegged stablecoin and a broader “Digital Asset Community,” a call that instantly ricocheted by crypto social media and reignited long-running tribal feuds between XRP and Solana partisans. In an X publish on Tuesday, Solana’s official account declared, “It’s official: @WesternUnion, the world’s largest cash switch enterprise, is constructing solely on Solana,” pairing the declare with a launch reel that includes CEO Devin McGranahan.
Western Union’s plan facilities on a dollar-backed token— dubbed the US Greenback Fee Token (USDPT)—with issuance by Anchorage Digital Financial institution and an preliminary rollout focused for 2026. The initiative is a part of a multi-pronged modernization effort that features on- and off-ramps to money by way of Western Union’s retail footprint and a settlement system designed to chop price and latency in cross-border flows.
McGranahan framed the transfer as a continuation of the agency’s 175-year arc of adopting new rails to attach senders and recipients: “So for 175 years, we’ve been connecting individuals with know-how, and we’ve been utilizing that know-how to maneuver cash. That is the following evolution, shifting to digital property and the power to maneuver cash seamlessly, cost-effectively and quickly in all places around the globe, utilizing the infrastructure and the size we have already got with fashionable blockchain know-how.”
He added: “We expect that is the following evolution, not simply in our historical past, however in how remittances occur around the globe.” He added that after surveying “many of the different options,” Western Union concluded “for an institutional use case like ours, the Solana blockchain was the correct selection for us.”
9/11 For XRP?
The company positioning—“solely on Solana,” per the Solana account—was sufficient to set off a pointy, if largely rhetorical, response cycle. Mert Mumtaz, CEO of Solana infrastructure supplier Helius, posted probably the most incendiary soundbite, writing, “that is 9/11 for xrp mfers,” a line that immediately grew to become the day’s headline and flashpoint for the XRP neighborhood.
Past the viral taunt, the market-structure query raised by Western Union’s transfer is easy: does a first-party, dollar-denominated instrument operating on a high-throughput public chain obviate the necessity for a non-sovereign bridge asset like XRP in retail remittance corridors?
Group member nietzbux (@nietzbux) replied by way of X: ”Ripple partnered with Moneygram 6 years in the past and it ended after the lawsuit. Western Union issuing a single USD secure coin on Solana is a pleasant adoption, however largely a lukewarm occasion in right this moment’s world of mass adoption.”
He criticized Solana’s messaging for making “your PR wins about one other coin,” including “It’s important to actually be punching as much as make your individual PR launch about one other coin. All this has performed is reveal the immense insecurities of SOL supporters together with their official account. Eric Trump stated to finish tribalism – however right here we’re, nonetheless getting hate on a reasonably mundane Western Union secure coin announcement.”
One other account Charting Man (@ChartingGuy) tried to disentangle product classes totally: “Numerous uneducated individuals saying that is dangerous for XRP and invalidates its use case. Guys, stablecoins have been round a very long time lol. XRP’s use case is way totally different than stablecoins. Possibly learn up on what the xrp ledger truly does & how xrp features. This implies nothing.”
At press time, XRP traded at $2.629.
Featured picture created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
Editorial Course of for bitcoinist is centered on delivering completely researched, correct, and unbiased content material. We uphold strict sourcing requirements, and every web page undergoes diligent assessment by our crew of prime know-how specialists and seasoned editors. This course of ensures the integrity, relevance, and worth of our content material for our readers.
