MoneyGram, Figure Markets, and Range to Help Secure the Stellar Network by joining as Tier 1 Validators

The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF), the non-profit organization that supports the development and growth of Stellar, the blockchain network built to run regulated finance, today announced that MoneyGram, Figure Markets, and Range will operate Tier 1 validators on the Stellar network. The addition of these three organizations, spanning capital markets, global money movement, and blockchain security infrastructure, marks a significant step in expanding the decentralization and resilience of the network’s core infrastructure.

Tier 1 validators are the backbone of the Stellar network. These organizations run multiple geographically distributed full validators that participate in the Stellar Consensus Protocol, a consensus model in which each validator chooses which others it trusts — its quorum set — to agree on the state of the ledger. They are publicly identifiable and maintain the highest standards of uptime, running this infrastructure not for financial return but to safeguard the safety and liveness of the entire network.

"What sets Stellar apart is that the controls regulated institutions depend on, like approving, revoking, and freezing assets are enforced by the protocol itself. The Stellar network's proof-of-agreement consensus lets any institution run a publicly identifiable validator and choose exactly whom to trust, giving risk teams a vetted set of recognizable peers and a multi-year uptime record. Adding world-class institutions and community members like MoneyGram, Figure Markets and Range as validators makes Stellar an even better network for regulated finance to run on," said Jose Fernandez da Ponte, President & Chief Growth Officer at the Stellar Development Foundation.

Expanding the set of Tier 1 organizations increases the network’s fault tolerance, meaning the network can continue operating seamlessly even if multiple organizations experience simultaneous outages. Each new Tier 1 organization also broadens the diversity of industries, geographies, and infrastructures underpinning consensus.

“The organizations stepping up to run Tier 1 validators are not passive participants, they are companies that have built real businesses on Stellar and have a direct stake in the network’s long-term security and neutrality. That’s exactly what you want from the infrastructure layer of a global financial network” said Justin Rice, Vice President of Ecosystem Growth at the Stellar Development Foundation.

Three Organizations, Three Vantage Points on the Network

MoneyGram has partnered with Stellar since 2021 to deliver some of the industry's most impactful real-world blockchain use cases. Stellar was the first blockchain to support the MoneyGram Ramps infrastructure, enabling seamless cash on and off-ramps for digital assets at scale. Stellar also serves as the exclusive blockchain powering MoneyGram's consumer balance feature, which provides customers with a stable digital dollar balance connected to one of the world's largest global money movement and cash access networks. 

"MoneyGram and Stellar are building the next generation of money movement,” said Luke Tuttle, MoneyGram Chief Product and Technology Officer. “Together, we’re combining MoneyGram’s trusted global brand, payments expertise and compliance leadership with Stellar’s fast, low-cost settlement network. Becoming a Stellar validator deepens our commitment to the ecosystem and reinforces our belief that the future of payments will be built on open, interoperable infrastructure.”  

Figure Markets, the blockchain-native exchange and marketplace founded by the team behind Figure Technology Solutions, brings deep capital markets and regulated financial products expertise to network operations.

"Stellar is a tight-knit ecosystem, one where regulated asset and stablecoin issuers have found measured success,” said Karl Samsen, Principal, $YLDS at Figure. “Figure has an important role to play among all market participants on Stellar. Issuing $YLDS and serving as a T1 Validator are key steps toward solidifying our position as one of the network's major contributors."

Range - the platform for companies operating across stablecoins, digital assets and fiat rails - runs real-time monitoring and pre-execution compliance controls across more than 200 blockchain networks, securing over $30B in assets for its customers. As a validator operator, Range adds a security-focused perspective to the organizations anchoring Stellar consensus.

“Range spends every day securing the infrastructure that moves stablecoins and fiat for our customers, so helping secure Stellar itself is a natural next step,” said Andres Monteoliva, CEO at Range. “Running Tier 1 validators lets us bring that security and monitoring expertise directly to the consensus layer of a network built for regulated finance. The institutions settling real money on Stellar should know the organizations underpinning it have a direct stake in keeping it safe.”

What This Means for the Network

To qualify as Tier 1, each organization must:

• Run three geographically dispersed full validators that publish complete history archives
• Maintain sustained uptime of 99.9% or higher
• Complete SEP-1 and SEP-20 self-verification so the network can transparently identify their nodes
• Coordinate actively with the existing Tier 1 community on network upgrades and operations

The validators are expected to be fully integrated into the network’s quorum configuration by mid-August.