Embattled’s blockchain software company Ripple says it has ended its partnership with the MoneyGram money transfer service.
If that sounds like déjà vu, it’s because MoneyGram already left Ripple last month as a result of the SEC’s ongoing lawsuit against the company. In December, the SEC claimed that sales of Ripple’s XRP cryptocurrency were unregistered bond offerings.
MoneyGram’s move was part of a bigger trend in the industry – exchanges like Binance and Coinbase had already removed XRP from the list, and the grayscale digital asset manager had distanced himself from Ripple.
But at the time, a spokesman for Ripple said Decrypt that his multi-year partnership agreement with MoneyGram “was still in effect” and that it was “look[ing] looking forward to finding a way forward. “
Now, Ripple says in a carefully diplomatic press release that the two companies have reached a mutual understanding to officially “end our current partnership agreement”.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse tweeted that both Ripple and MoneyGram are “both committed to revisiting [the partnership] in the future.”
MoneyGram did not immediately respond to a request for comment.