Latin America’s Mercado Libre Pulls the Plug on Its Crypto Coin

Latin America's e-commerce elephantine softly killed its ERC-20 loyalty token 4 years in—while Nubank's Nucoin already died the aforesaid death.

Mercado Libre is shutting down Mercado Coin. The company—which is bigger than Amazon successful Latin America—announced done its Mercado Pago wallet that the token volition halt functioning connected April 17.

Users holding the coin person 3 options: Sell it done the app, walk it arsenic acquisition recognition connected the platform, oregon bash thing and hold for it to beryllium auto-converted to section fiat. Mercado Libre didn't explicate the determination successful its lawsuit notice. The institution did not respond to Decrypt's petition for comment.

Mercado Coin launched successful August 2022 successful Brazil arsenic an ERC-20 token connected Ethereum, built on with crypto speech Ripio. The thought was simple: bargain selected products connected the marketplace, gain tokens, usage them connected aboriginal purchases, oregon currency out. It ne'er truly caught on.

The token expanded to different markets aft its Brazilian debut, but it ne'er built a meaningful base. It lived and died arsenic a curiosity—a loyalty points strategy with other steps and a dose of volatility.

That past portion is apt wherefore Mercado Libre isn't abandoning crypto altogether—it's conscionable changing what benignant of crypto it bets on.

In August 2024, the institution launched MeliDolar (MUSD), a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar. It’s besides built with Ripio, and besides accessible done Mercado Pago. The cardinal quality is, of course, the terms of MeliDolar doesn't move. It's backed by U.S. Treasury securities and dollar deposits, and its worth sits precisely wherever users expect it to.

MeliDolar is besides the backbone of the company's Meli Plus loyalty program. Members get it arsenic cashback connected purchases. They tin walk it backmost connected the platform, merchantability it successful the app with nary fees, oregon conscionable clasp it arsenic a dollar hedge—a genuinely utile diagnostic for Brazilian and Mexican consumers watching their section currencies suffer ground. This was the logical measurement aft a little experimentation allowing users to experimentation with Paxos’ Stablecoin.

Mercado Libre isn't unsocial successful learning this acquisition the hard way. Nubank—Brazil's largest bank, a afloat integer neobank with implicit 100 cardinal customers successful Brazil alone—ran the aforesaid experimentation astatine the aforesaid time. Nucoin launched successful 2023 connected Polygon, airdropped to its monolithic idiosyncratic basal arsenic a loyalty and rewards token.

It subsequently collapsed 97% successful value. Nubank suspended trading successful September 2024, gave holders 90 days to person their coins to Bitcoin oregon USDC, and unopen the full happening down by December. Sixteen cardinal users were near holding the bag, sweetened lone by a prize run the slope ran to instrumentality the borderline off.

Mercado Libre inactive holds much than $38 cardinal successful Bitcoin connected its equilibrium expanse and continues to connection crypto trading and stablecoin transfers done Mercado Pago. The infrastructure is staying—but not the coin cipher was truly utilizing anyway.