On November 22, Latin America’s largest e-commerce platform Mercado Libre announced that it will soon allow the use of cryptocurrencies for transactions in the Brazilian market through the digital payment application Mercado Pago.
According to Mercado Pago Vice President Tulio Oliveira, Mercado Libre customers in Brazil can buy, sell and store cryptocurrencies through their digital wallets. However, customers will not be able to use cryptocurrencies to pay directly for products on Mercado Libre in the immediate future.
Mr. Oliveira said the initiative to trade in crypto on Mercado Libre will be tested in Brazil and then expanded to other economies in the region.
In November 2021, Mercado Libre allowed a small group of customers to conduct trading operations with cryptocurrencies for the purpose of reviewing the effectiveness of this initiative. The number of customers authorized to conduct operations through cryptocurrencies is expected to increase sharply in the coming weeks.
For his part, Mercado Libre CEO Marcos Galperin affirmed that digital currency opens a new path for this largest e-commerce platform in Latin America.
In May 2021, Mercado Libre announced the purchase of $7.8 million worth of bitcoins. Previously, this e-commerce “giant” announced that it would make it possible for every customer in Argentina to buy real estate with bitcoin, while before, real estate transactions in this Latin American country Only use USD.
In the period from January to September 2021, Mercado Libre recorded sales of $ 4.9 billion, an increase of 88.3% compared to the same period last year. The platform’s net profit is estimated at 129.4 million USD, up 159% over the same period.
From the beginning of this year to the end of September 2021, Mercado Libre has 78.7 million user accounts with a trading volume of $7.3 billion. A total of 259.8 million items were sold on this e-commerce platform in the period from January to September 2021.