A Latin America-based multinational e-commerce company, MercadoLibre Inc, recently announced the creation of a new cryptocurrency called MercadoCoin. That is going to be implemented in its loyalty program.
The Token’s Details :
It was reported that the cryptocurrency will be available on the Ethereum network. It will act as an ERC-20 token. I will be priced at $0.10 each. Initially, for cashback and purchases, this crypto will be used. Though, it’ll be only inside MercadoLibre’s platform. The plan of the developers shows that they will widen this token’s accessibility later.
It was stated that MercadoLibre’s cryptocurrency will be initially priced at $0.10 per piece before being open to market fluctuation.
Future Plan :
The program is already being accomplished. It will include only Brazilian users. But the company intends to expand to other countries in Latam. Though, Mercado Libre still did not provide any details regarding its plan of expansion. It is known that this initial phase will have only 500,000 customers. The company announced its upcoming crypto launch on August 18. This new token will be available to over 500,000 Brazilian users. Though, the team’s goal is to circulate it to at least 80 million customers by the end of the month.
The Mercado coin will provide two different services. It will be used as a way of payment on the platforms. The users will also be allowed to act with the trading services of Mercado Pago. It allows the exchange of other crypto assets.
With the company launching trading services in November in Brazil, Mercado Libre’s crypto was started. At that time, the company stated it would expand its trading services to more regions in Latam.
Present Strategy :
Presently, the company is not going ahead to launch their crypto in any other region than Brazil. Because it will be difficult to comply with the existing regulations in other countries. This is a considerable thing to look at how different the politics towards crypto in Latin America are! Only the Countries like Brazil, El Salvador, and Venezuela are crypto-friendly and well processed. But the region like Ecuador, Bolivia, and Chile show opposite sentiments.
The CEO and founder of MercadoLibre, Marcos Galperin, said that this new upcoming initiative is going to boost the company’s loyalty program and would assist in “democratizing financial inclusion in Latin America.”
Previous Scenario :
It was reported that MercadoLibre debuted in the cryptocurrency market last year. At that time, it launched a wallet to provide services to Brazilian users to purchase and sell cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Tether (USDT).
Recently, the CEO of Mercado Pago, Osvaldo Gimenez, remarked that they would widen their services to the overall region. That would allow all users to store, sell or purchase cryptocurrencies without having any help from third-party banks, exchanges, or intermediates.
On the behalf of the company, it was stated that they are going to expand their services in the entire region. It’ll increase the possibilities to purchase, sell and store the cryptocurrencies in the users’ accounts. It supports currencies that reflect the value of the dollar, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and stablecoins.
Gimenez shared that the use of cryptocurrencies through MercadoPago will have an effective impact in the Region. Because maximum people are unbanked or use them specifically to withdraw cash. According to the developers that will be an ‘investment opportunity for the users who are looking for an alternative to fiat currency.
Alongside MercadoCoin and its crypto wallet, Mercadolibre invested in Bitcoin as a company. They are also a strategic investor in Paxos and Libra Association. Libra Association is one of Brazil’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges and it was one of the members of its fintech branch, MercadoPago.
