Mercado Libre Rolls Out Cryptocurrency Called Mercado Coin

Online marketplace company Mercado Libre (NASDAQ: MELI) has rolled out its own cryptocurrency. Called Mercado Coin, Mercado Libre announced that it launched the cryptocurrency in Brazil to serve its customers better. This development will significantly expand crypto’s presence in Latin America as the online marketplace company is one of the largest in the region.

According to the e-commerce giant, Mercado Coin is part of Brazil’s loyalty program in offering customers more value and enhanced experiences. With the launch of the cryptocurrency, Mercado Libre will begin to reward members of its loyalty program with Mercado Coin. These regular customers will receive a reward when making purchases on the popular marketplace. That means anyone can pay with Mercado Coin on Mercado Libre and, at the same time, accept it as cash back on purchases.

The company intends to add a “crypto logo” to specific products in its marketplace in Brazil. Any product that has a crypto logo beside it means that there would be a reward of Mercado Coin for its purchase. Upon receiving the cryptocurrency, Mercado Libre said holders could make purchases with the coin in the marketplace. Additionally, there is the option of exchanging the crypto for Brazilian reais on the payment app Mercado Pago.

Mercado Libre Chief Technology Officer Daniel Rabinovich talked about the newly-launched cryptocurrency. He said:

“The blockchain technology supporting Mercado Coin allowed us to deliver a secure and open solution. We continue to follow the evolution of crypto and blockchain as we see significant potential in these technologies to simplify operation and empower our customers financially.”

Mercado Libre Expects Cryptocurrency to be available to 80M Users in Brazil by Month End

In addition, Mercado Libre said that Mercado Coin, which is based on the Ethereum ERC-20 token standard, will expectedly be available to its 80 million users in Brazil. Also, holders will not be able to transfer the coin to external wallets. The company said the crypto asset would spread to all its consumers by the end of the month. Also, Mercado Libre plans to introduce the coin in other countries “soon.”

While Mercado Coin trades on Mercado Pago, the company’s digital wallet, crypto company Ripio will provide custody and trading services on Mercado Pago. According to the e-commerce company, the crypto will be available at the initial price of 10 cents which would be subject to market conditions.

The Mercado Coin is just another indicator that Mercado Libreis relentless with its expansion into the crypto world. In 2021, the company started working with Paxos to allow its users to trade and hold specific cryptocurrencies. The cryptos include Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the Pax Dollar stablecoin (USDP). The company said users could access the trading capabilities through the Mercado Pago app. Within 60 days of launch, the crypt trading and holding functionality gained 1 million users. With such an achievement, Mercado Libre might see a great adoption of its cryptocurrency.