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MercadoPago, the fintech subsidiary of e-com behemoth MercadoLibre, has made Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptos like the US dollar-backed stablecoin Pax Dollar available payment methods to its Brazilian consumers (USDP), which will be facilitated by Paxos. The Latin American e-commerce network has chosen Brazil as the first country to accept cryptocurrency payments via its MercadoPago app.
Mercadolibre will Accept Bitcoin and Other Cryptos as Payment
The cooperation between MercadoPago and Paxos will enable customers to pay for any items offered on the site using bitcoin, according to a statement released Thursday by Paxos, a blockchain infrastructure platform utilized by PayPal and Facebook.
This announcement heralds one of the biggest non-crypto wallet stablecoin operations ever. Users of the MercadoPago app may now purchase USDP for as low as 1 Brazilian real. Stablecoins may act as a buffer against fiat currency debasement in Latin America, where inflation is rampant.
The partnership with Paxos would "accelerate the democratization of financial services in Latin America," beginning with Brazil, MercadoLibre's biggest market. Paxos intends to secure consumer funds while MercadoPago strives to make cryptocurrency more accessible to all Brazilians.
Platform Administration and Integration
According to Tulio Oliveira, vice president of MercadoPago Brazil, because MercadoPago has been allowed by Brazil's central bank to serve as a payment institution, Paxos will manage the entire platform administration and integration, as well as reporting users' transactions to authorities.
Since 1999, MercadoLibre has provided financial services to the unbanked and underbanked. MercadoPago and Paxos are now two of the few firms attempting to standardize stablecoin connections and mainstream use cases. Reserve is an additional platform that uses the Reserve (RSV) stablecoin to exchange local currencies in Venezuela, Colombia, Argentina, and Panama to US dollars.