MercadoLibre Will Introduce A New Cryptocurrency
- Argentina-based e-commerce giant MercadoLibre, Inc. has announced the creation of a new cryptocurrency called MercadoCoin which will be available to Brazilian customers.
- The firm has not confirmed whether the crypto will be available for customers in other Latin American countries.
Argentina-based e-commerce giant with a solid position in the South American market, MercadoLibre, Inc has recently announced the creation of a new cryptocurrency, MercadoCoin.
On Thursday in a press release, the company said that MercadoCoin will be implemented in Brazil as part of its loyalty program.
According to the announcement, the customers who would use the new crypto token while buying products on the e-commerce platform, will receive MercadoCoins as cashback. Moreover, they will subsequently be able to make new purchases with the digital currency, which adheres to Ethereum’s ERC-20 token standard, or trade it on MercadoPago, the company’s financial services unit.
The cryptocurrency issued by MercadoLibre will have a fixed initial price of $0.10 before being subject to market volatility. Effective from Thursday, it will be accessible to 500,000 clients in Brazil, and by the end of August, it should have reached all 80 million of the company’s customers in the nation, according to the company’s goals.
Mercado Libre has been actively monitoring the advancement of blockchain technology and digital assets all over the world.
“As a leading technology company, we are actively evaluating the various innovations and opportunities around this market as it evolves, aiming to be a core participant in this disruption. digital assets and blockchain technology represent a unique, global and collective phenomenon that breaks barriers and creates a level, open playing field for all users to achieve economic empowerment, which is very aligned with our mission as a company,”
said Andre Chaves, senior vice president of strategy and corporate development for MercadoLibre.
The company has confirmed that it is still unsure of exactly when it would bring MercadoCoin to other Latin American nations other than Brazil. MercadoLibre also noted that for now, the new crypto token will not be available on any other exchange for trading apart from MercadoPago.
Commenting on the ongoing slump in the crypto market that led to several big companies like Celsius Network and Voyager Digital collapsing earlier in 2022, MercadoLibre’s country lead Fernando Yunes said that the team is currently focusing on the long-term opportunities and the crypto industry has massive potential for that.
E-commerce world adopting crypto
The decision was made as e-commerce competition in Brazil heats up; in the second quarter, Sea Ltd.’s Shopee reported a 270% growth in revenue there. Additionally China’s Alibaba is also picking up steam in the nation.
Apart from Brazil, e-commerce giants all over the world are rushing to adopt cryptocurrencies by diving deep into the space. When it comes to digital space, Asia’s contribution in the industry’s growth is notable. Singapore and Cambodia are two of the ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) nations that are experimenting with digital currencies to grow their e-commerce sectors. ASEAN is quickly evolving into a global hub for payment digitalization. Additionally, these nations seek to support digital asset-using start-ups while enhancing the payment ecosystem.
A crypto journalist with over 3 years of experience in DeFi, NFT, metaverse, etc. Parth has worked with major media outlets in the crypto and finance world and has gained experience and expertise in crypto culture after surviving bear and bull markets over the years.
