Girl holding a smartphone with Mercado Livre app on the screen on black background table. Office environment. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. February 2022.
Mercado Libre announced today the launch of Mercado Coin, its first cryptocurrency, in Brazil. It was developed on the Ethereum blockchain and will be used through Mercado Libre and Mercado Pago in that country for US$0.10.
The company expects that by the end of August 80 million users will have access to Mercado Coin, Cointelegraph detailed. So far there are around 500,000 users qualified to receive the digital currency. However, to achieve its goal, the e-commerce company assures that this number will increase daily.
In its initial phase, the cryptocurrency will be used to make purchases and can even be combined with other forms of payment, such as traditional bank cards. Mercado Coin will not be a stablecoin (whose price is linked to fiat money or another reference asset), and Mercado Libre guarantees that there are liquidity funds to ensure its value.
For the time being, it will not be possible to transfer it to an external wallet, and the same media reported that those who use the cryptocurrency will not have extra benefits. However, being a pilot, Mercado Libre has high expectations regarding its use. The company already has two million users who buy and sell Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USD through their partnership with Paxos.
Mercado Coin was developed with the Argentine fintech Ripio for about a year and a half. This collaboration will see the cryptocurrency not only listed on Mercado Pago and Mercado Libre but also on Ripio. And they will stick to the guidelines of local regulators and comply with KYC (Know Your Customer) procedures and Brazil’s financial system.
The company also announced that it plans to expand its digital currency to the rest of Latin America in the future so that it can be used even outside its platforms.
In Latin America, Amazon already has Amazon Coins, which can be used to obtain benefits in the purchase of apps and video games and purchases within its apps. In the world, eBay is exploring the possibility of accepting cryptocurrencies for purchases.
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