Latam’s Giant Mercado Libre Announces Expansion of Its Stablecoin Project

Mercado Libre, Latin America’s e-commerce and financial services giant, has announced that it will expand its previously launched Meli Dólar, an in-house developed dollar-pegged stablecoin, to other countries. The token, developed in partnership with the Argentina-based crypto exchange Ripio, will be launched in Mexico, according to Juan Vita, Senior Director of Product at Mercado Pago.

Mercado Libre Expands Meli Dólar Stablecoin Initiative

Mercado Libre one of the largest e-commerce and financial services companies in Latam, has revealed that it will expand the availability of its dollar pegged stablecoin to other markets. During the Modular 2024 event held in Sao Paolo, Mercado Pago’s Senior Product Director Juan Vita stated that the company had already launched the meli dolar token in Mexico.

Mexico has become the second target of the company in Latam, being one of the hotbeds in crypto adoption in the region and the world. According to a recent Chainalysis report, Mexico only trails Brazil and Venezuela in cryptocurrency adoption in the area, making this decision a logical step for the company.

Mercado Libre launched Meli dolar for Brazilian markets back in August, seeking to offer its customers in Latam a way of keeping the value of their income stable without having access to a dollar-based bank account. The token was launched in collaboration with Ripio and was issued by Meli Uruguay S.R.L., a company of the Mercado Libre group.

Mercado Libre collects no fees for purchasing, selling, or transacting using meli dolar to maintain its edge over solutions outside its platform. Local media states that, as meli dolar is backed by U.S. debt, it could pass the earnings of these bonds to holders, creating a sort of dollar bank account able to accrue interest.

The company also hinted at a possible product launch in Argentina, with Vita stating that Argentine regulation might allow the launch of meli dolar in the country soon. Nonetheless, he offered no timeline for this development, giving zero details on this subject.

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