- The Argentine company wants to take advantage of the cryptocurrency boom in Brazil and use its platform as a crypto exchange service.
- Although the direct purchase of products with cryptocurrencies will not be available yet, the company is expected to implement it soon.
- Mercado Pago service will be extended to the rest of the Latin American countries in the future.
The Latin American e-commerce giant Mercado Libre, thus ventures into the cryptocurrency market by launching this service in Brazil, through its Mercado Pago application.
However, the company explained that it will not yet be possible to use cryptocurrencies to directly pay for goods and services purchased on the platform. In the near future, the product will be implemented in other markets in the region.
Until now, the Argentine company had stayed away from cryptocurrencies, despite recognizing that cryptocurrencies will have a “relevant role in transnational payments” and “have an important role as a store of value.”
But even the CEO of Mercado Libre, Marcos Galperín, was not convinced about the use of cryptocurrencies as a means of payment. He believed that many challenges had to be overcome before its implementation as a currency.
Galperin’s biggest doubt was precisely the use of crypto for the acquisition of goods and services through the Mercado Libre platform, the option of which is not yet available.
This has not stopped the company from starting to store bitcoins in its wallet. Last May Mercado Libre announced the purchase of 7.8 million dollars in BTC with available liquid funds.
Although Galperín agrees with the use of cryptocurrencies and is convinced of the enormous possibilities offered by decentralization through blockchain technology, he also recognizes that when paying “the QR code is much more efficient than cryptocurrencies”.
"We take the time to study and learn before deciding to take a step towards cryptocurrencies. This has transformative potential ahead and opens up a new avenue for us," the executive said.
The Mercado Pago application will have the new option available in the “crypto” button that appears along with the other functions: “send money”, “discounts”, QR code “and others.
Through his Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) account, the CEO of Mercado Libre wrote:
"Starting this week in #Brasil, users of @MercadoLivre and @mercadopago can buy, save and sell crypto." This service was available to certain MercadoPago clients in Brazil since early November, but will now be expanded to more users in the coming weeks, Mercado Pago VP Tulio Oliveira told Bloomberg.
On The Flipside
- It is not by chance that Mercado Libre has chosen Brazil as a pilot plan for the launch of the cryptocurrency purchase and sale service. The largest Latin American economy is known to be the best market to test product and service launches.
Why You Should Care?
- Mercado Libre’s foray into cryptocurrency trading is an indicator of how this market is moving and the rapid adoption of digital currencies in the region.
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