Mercado Libre Launches Its Own Crypto Token
Blockchain

Mercado Libre Launches Its Own Crypto Token

2m
2 years ago

Mercado Libre, Latin America's biggest online retailer, launches Mercado Coin.

Mercado Libre Launches Its Own Crypto Token

Crypto tokens as part of cashback programs for retailers have been tipped as a possible future use case of cryptocurrency.

That prediction is slowly starting to materialize.

According to a Reuters report, Mercado Libre, Latin America's biggest online marketplace (akin to a South American Amazon) launched its own cryptocurrency on Thursday.

Mercado Coin will be an ERC-20 token on Ethereum and will be used to earn cashback rewards on the marketplace. The initial valuation will be $0.10. Marcos Galperin, CEO of Mercado Libre, announced the news on his Twitter account:

Galperin called the launch a "major impulse to Mercado's loyalty program" and "a step towards democratizing financial inclusion in Latin America."

For now, Mercado Coin will be limited to Brazil and is already available to the first 500,000 customers. Mercado Libre expects to roll out the token to all its 80 million Brazilian users by the end of August. An expansion beyond Brazil is currently not planned, according to the press release.

Mercado Coin will be tradeable via the company's fintech arm Mercado Pago and will not be available on other exchanges. According to information from Decrypt, Riplo, an Argentinian cryptocurrency exchange, developed the technology behind the token.
Mercado Libre has previously put BTC on its balance sheet.
This article contains links to third-party websites or other content for information purposes only (“Third-Party Sites”). The Third-Party Sites are not under the control of CoinMarketCap, and CoinMarketCap is not responsible for the content of any Third-Party Site, including without limitation any link contained in a Third-Party Site, or any changes or updates to a Third-Party Site. CoinMarketCap is providing these links to you only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement, approval or recommendation by CoinMarketCap of the site or any association with its operators. This article is intended to be used and must be used for informational purposes only. It is important to do your own research and analysis before making any material decisions related to any of the products or services described. This article is not intended as, and shall not be construed as, financial advice. The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s [company’s] own and do not necessarily reflect those of CoinMarketCap. CoinMarketCap is not responsible for the success or authenticity of any project, we aim to act as a neutral informational resource for end-users.
5 people liked this article