Baird analyst Colin Sebastian views Alibaba (BABA) affiliate Ant Financial's deal to acquire MoneyGram (MGI) as consistent with Ant's recent efforts to expand its global payments network. The deal may help Ant expand usage of the AliPay digital wallet in the U.S., while driving additional MoneyGram transaction volume in the Asia-Pacific region, though there is significant competition in online money transfer from incumbents such as PayPal's (PYPL) Xoom, Sebastian added. He keeps an Outperform rating and $116 price target Alibaba.

DMG Blockchain Solutions (DMGGF) announced a strategic collaboration with PayPal (PYPL) and Energy Web to explore ways to decarbonize the Bitcoin blockchain. The companies are working together on developing methods for transacting on the Bitcoin network which would expand its use as a carbon neutral payment rail, thus advancing its application. DMG, Energy Web, and PayPal are working together to publish a research paper, which we collectively believe will benefit users of the Bitcoin network who would like to take advantage of carbon neutral options in their transactions. PayPal, with its focus on developing its bitcoin payment rail, has been a leader in new payment technologies with the introduction of its enhanced services by integrating blockchain technology, launching the PayPal USD stablecoin with Paxos Trust Company in August 2023 for efficient transactions.