Mercado Libre to Phase Out Mercado Coin, Transitioning to Meli Dolar
- Mercado Libre will discontinue its Mercado Coin, launched in August 2022, by April 17.
- Users must sell or spend their Mercado Coin balances through the Mercado Pago app before the deadline, or balances will convert to Brazilian reals.
- The platform continues to support Meli Dolar (MUSD), a US-dollar stablecoin introduced in early 2024.
- MUSD is backed by $75 million worth of assets, according to a February attestation report.
- Mercado Libre holds approximately $38.85 million in Bitcoin (BTC) as part of its treasury assets.
The discontinuation of Mercado Coin reflects challenges faced by in-house utility coins in Latin America, following Nubank’s similar experience with Nucoin collapsing in value. Despite this change, Mercado Libre maintains its focus on crypto rewards through MUSD for transactions and cash back incentives.
As of now, Mercado Libre’s Bitcoin holdings have appreciated nearly by 77% since their initial investment at an average price of $38,569 per coin.(Source)
