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Latin American e-commerce platform Mercado Libre is reportedly phasing out Mercado Coin, launched in August 2022, which offered cashback and other perks to users.
According to a Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/mercadolibres-fintech-terminates-its-cryptocurrency-mercado-coin-2026-03-31/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">report</a> on Tuesday, users must sell or spend their loyalty coin balances through the Mercado Pago app before April 17. If no action is taken, the balances will be converted to Brazilian reals.&nbsp;
Cointelegraph reached out to Mercado Libre for comment.
Brazil has been the <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/paxos-and-mercado-libre-partner-up-to-bring-usdp-to-mexico" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">main market</a> for Mercado Coin, which enables users to earn tokens as cash back when buying products on Mercado Libre, considered to be the “Amazon of Latin America.”
The shutdown of Mercado Coin doesn't spell the end of crypto rewards for Mercado Libre users, as the e-commerce platform still offers Meli Dolar (MUSD), a US-dollar stablecoin launched in 2024.
Mercado Libre customers use MUSD for everyday transactions and peer-to-peer payments on the platform, while subscribers to Meli+ can also receive cash back on MUSD purchases.&nbsp;
<a href="https://http2.mlstatic.com/frontend-assets/crypto-open-loop-frontend/docs/attestations/attestation-report-2026-03-16.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Data</a> from <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/worldcoin-integrates-with-shopify-mercado-libre-minecraft-reddit-and-telegram" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Mercado Libre’s</a> latest attestation report on Feb. 28 shows that MUSD balances are backed by $75 million worth of assets.
<h2 id="nubank-s-nucoin-collapsed-in-2024">Nubank’s Nucoin collapsed in 2024</h2>
Launching in-house utility coins in Latin America has proven to be a tough task.
Nubank, Brazil's largest bank, launched the Polygon-based <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/nubank-to-launch-loyalty-tokens-on-the-polygon-blockchain" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Nucoin in late 2022</a> and airdropped tokens to much of its more than 100 million customer base shortly after.&nbsp;
However, the <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/nubank-ends-own-crypto-token-trading" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">token’s value collapsed 97%</a> by September 2024, forcing Nubank to suspend trading of the token.
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/australia-crypto-payments-rise-banking-blocks-survey" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Australian crypto shopping surges, but so do banking blocks: Survey</a>
Nubank started <a href="https://international.nubank.com.br/consumers/nubank-begins-testing-new-nucoin/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">restructuring</a> its loyalty program for Nucoin in July, stripping out its market-based features and repositioning it as a rewards program focused on engagement, perks and in-app benefits.
<h2 id="mercado-libre-has-held-strong-on-its-bitcoin">Mercado Libre has held strong on its Bitcoin</h2>
Meanwhile, Mercado Libre <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/mercadolibre-plans-to-accept-btc-and-cryptocurrencies-as-payment-for-all-products" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">continues to hold Bitcoin</a> (<a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">BTC</a>) as a treasury asset, with 570.4 Bitcoin worth $38.85 million marked on its balance sheet, BitcoinTreasuries.NET <a href="https://bitcointreasuries.net/public-companies/mercadolibre" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">data</a> shows.
Mercado Libre was one of the earlier corporations to invest in Bitcoin, <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/largest-latin-american-ecommerce-platform-adds-7-8m-bitcoin-to-its-treasury" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">making its first purchase</a> in 2021.
The e-commerce platform hasn’t sold since and is up nearly 77% on its Bitcoin investment, having purchased the coins at an average price of $38,569.
Magazine: <a href="https://cointelegraph-magazine.com/cryptos-impossible-choice-when-privacy-and-aml-laws-conflict/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">When privacy and AML laws conflict — Crypto projects’ impossible choice</a>

E-commerce giant Mercado Libre to sunset rewards-based Mercado Coin: Report

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