Key takeaways:
- The Brazilian central bank had granted Mercado Bitcoin a license as a payment provider.
- The fintech launch for Mercado Bitcoin was initially scheduled for 2021 but was postponed because of the regulator’s approval procedure.
On June 2, local media reported that the Brazilian central bank had granted Mercado Bitcoin a license as a payment provider. With the license, the business will introduce MB Pay, its fintech product.
Using cryptocurrency assets stored on the exchange, MB Pay, a payment institution, can offer Brazilian consumers specific digital banking services, including staking, investing in digital fixed income, and other financial operations. A debit card with a crypto off-ramp for consumers is anticipated to be online soon. The CEO of 2TM, the organization that owns Mercado Bitcoin, Roberto Dagnoni, stated:
“The approval of the Central Bank is a crucial step, as it allows us to continue expanding our business and providing a better service to our customers,”
Traditional local broker Guide Investimentos also revealed cooperation with Mercado Bitcoin earlier this week in order to enter the market for digital assets.
The fintech launch for Mercado Bitcoin was initially scheduled for 2021 but was postponed because of the regulator’s approval procedure. The development happened on the same day that Mercado Bitcoin was forced to pay back a group of investors who claimed that a co-founder and former executive had withheld funds in a fake hack in 2013 by paying back over 2,182 BTC (about $59.3 million).
A thriving market for digital solutions and a population of around 214 million people have attracted crypto companies to the Latin American nation. Brazil has been one of the top international markets, according to Binance, in the past. On May 19, the country also issued Latam Gateway, its local partner, a license to operate as a payment provider. Crypto.com and Bitso are other cryptocurrency exchanges with Brazilian licenses to act as payment processors.
Additionally, Coinbase is growing its presence in the nation. The American exchange has been working with regional payment processors since March to provide cryptocurrency purchases and enable deposits and withdrawals in the regional currency.
By choosing 14 participants for its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) trial, the Central Bank of Brazil recently took a big step toward examining the world of digital currencies. The list, which was made public on Wednesday, features important local financial organizations, including Bradesco, Nubank, and Ita Unibanco, as well as Banco do Brasil, the biggest publicly traded bank in Brazil, and the local stock exchange B3. Two large firms, Microsoft and Visa, were also chosen to participate.
