Latin America’s largest e-commerce company, Mercado Libre, has announced the launch of a new stablecoin pegged to the US dollar through its digital banking unit, Mercado Pago. The stablecoin, called Meli Dollar, will offer Brazilian users a practical and stable financial management tool.
The company noted that Mercado Pago users in Brazil will be able to buy and sell stablecoins using their Brazilian real-denominated account balances without paying any fees.
The company explained that this new product aims to provide a reliable option for users who want to manage their finances amid economic fluctuations.
Mercado Libre has been steadily integrating cryptocurrency into its platform. In August 2022, the company launched its own cryptocurrency, Mercado Coin, allowing users to shop on the marketplace and earn cashback.
Prior to this, Mercado Pago partnered with Paxos to integrate its blockchain infrastructure, allowing Brazilian users to buy, sell and hold Bitcoin, ether and Paxos’ stablecoin USDP.
Mercado Libre has partnered with Ripio, a well-known Latin American cryptocurrency firm, to facilitate transactions involving the Meli Dollar. Ripio, which provides a trading platform and wallet services in the region, will act as a market maker for transactions executed on Mercado Pago.
This partnership builds on the existing collaboration between Ripio and Mercado Pago, as the two companies previously worked together to develop Mercado Coin.
*This is not investment advice.
