Latin American E-Commerce Giant Mercado Libre Launches U.S. Dollar-Tied Stablecoin

Mercado Pago, the digital bank unit of Latin America’s largest company, Mercado Libre (MELI), said on Wednesday that it is introducing a stablecoin in Brazil tied to the U.S. dollar.

The company said Mercado Pago’s users in Brazil will be able to buy and sell the Meli Dollar stablecoin using account balances in Brazilian reais without incurring any fees. The product, said the firm, “aims to provide a practical and stable option for financial management.”

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In August 2022, Mercado Libre launched its cryptocurrency, Mercado Coin, to allow users to make purchases on the marketplace and receive cash back. Prior to that, Mercado Libre integrated Paxos’ blockchain infrastructure with Mercado Pagoto enable users in Brazil to buy, sell, and hold bitcoin, ether, and Paxos’ stablecoin, Pax dollar (USDP). .

Ripio, a Latin American crypto company, will serve as the market maker for transactions made on Mercado Pago, the company said. Ripio, which operates a trading platform and a wallet in the region, among other services, had worked with Mercado Pago to develop Mercado Coin.

The move by Mercado Libre comes about one year after U.S.-based PayPal (PYPL) brought to market its dollar-based stablecoin, PYUSD, which in recent days has closed in on a $1 billion market cap.

Edited by Stephen Alpher.