E-commerce Giant Mercado Libre Launches Own Cryptocurrency

• Market participants will be eligible for rebates on their purchases utilizing the token.
• The technology underpinning the token was created by Ripio.

E-commerce giant, Mercado Libre, has launched its own cryptocurrency. As an ECR20 token, the established standard for tokens developed on the Ethereum blockchain, the firm has released Mercado Coin for consumers in Brazil. Market participants will be eligible for rebates on their purchases.

The firm has said that the initial value of a Mercado Coin would be $0.10, but that this value may change according to market conditions. The technology underpinning the token was created by Ripio, an Argentinean cryptocurrency exchange.

The company said:

“Mercado Coin is our new way of rewarding our users for their behavior within our ecosystem. The more purchases of selected products they make, the more Mercado Coins they receive.”

Boosting Loyalty Programme

Customers will be able to utilize the cryptocurrency via the company’s fintech division, Mercado Pago, to make purchases or engage in cryptocurrency trading on the marketplace. Since it is difficult to comply with the many governmental processes required to operate in other nations, the firm currently has no intentions to expand into other regions.

Mercado Libre CEO and founder Marcos Galperin said:

“Today we launched Mercado Coin in Brazil, further boosting our loyalty programme and taking another step towards democratizing financial inclusion in Latin America.”

Moreover, Mercado Libre said that the token will not be sold on other marketplaces except Mercado Pago. Mercado Libre, Latin America’s largest online marketplace, has recorded Bitcoin holdings totaling millions of dollars. There were rumblings in January that Mercado Libre was developing its own stablecoin, but the company never officially acknowledged this.

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