MoneyGram is partnering with Ripple to get into the crypto game.
The money transfer company says the tie-up could help send funds more cheaply and quickly. And one journalist believes the third-largest cryptocurrency offers a benefit over the alternatives.
“Ripple doesn’t have miners,” Fortune writer Jeff John Roberts told Cheddar. “You’re not relying on someone to mine a new block, and pack in the transaction, so they can do it instantly.”
MoneyGram will test using Ripple’s XRP coin to send money over its payment network xRapid. The news helped Ripple rebound after an early morning sell-off, which was in response to South Korean officials saying they are planning to ban trading in crypto. Immediately after the announcement, the price surged about 15 percent.
Roberts said the deal is a moment of truth for Ripple, since many blockchain watchers doubted the coin can get financial institutions to use its system.
He says the value will continue to surge if it can also prove it will lower the cost of money transfers.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/moneygram-and-ripple-teaming-up).
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Spain's government has fined Airbnb 64 million euros or $75 million for advertising unlicensed tourist rentals. The consumer rights ministry announced the fine on Monday. The ministry stated that many listings lacked proper license numbers or included incorrect information. The move is part of Spain's ongoing efforts to regulate short-term rental companies amid a housing affordability crisis especially in popular urban areas. The ministry ordered Airbnb in May to remove around 65,000 listings for similar violations. The government's consumer rights minister emphasized the impact on families struggling with housing. Airbnb said it plans to challenge the fine in court.
Roomba maker iRobot has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but says that it doesn’t expect any disruptions to devices as the more than 30-year-old company is taken private under a restructuring process. iRobot said that it is being acquired by Picea through a court-supervised process. Picea is the company's primary contract manufacturer. The Bedford, Massachusetts-based anticipates completing the prepackaged chapter 11 process by February.
Serbia’s prosecutor for organized crime has charged a government minister and three others with abuse of position and falsifying of documents related to a luxury real estate project linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The charges came on Monday. The investigation centers on a controversy over a a bombed-out military complex in central Belgrade that was a protected cultural heritage zone but that is facing redevelopment as a luxury compound by a company linked to Kushner. The $500 million proposal to build a high-rise hotel, offices and shops at the site has met fierce opposition from experts at home and abroad. Selakovic and others allegedly illegally lifted the protection status for the site by falsifying documentation.
