Mercado Libre, a leading Latam-based e-tailer, has announced the launch of its own token, called “Mercadocoin,” for Brazilian customers. The token will be the main reward of a loyalty program on Mercado Libre’s platform and will be awarded to customers that purchase certain items linked with the token. It will be worth $0.10 at the beginning.
Mercado Libre to Launch Mercadocoin Token to Power Loyalty Program
Mercado Libre in Latam is a retail and financial unicorn. announcedThe inclusion of cryptocurrency in its royalty program. Company announced that its token, called “mercadocoin”, was launched to provide rewards for users. The token, to be issued on top of Ethereum, will be given to users that purchase certain articles on Mercado Libre’s platform identified with the loyalty program.
Although the program is being already implemented in Brazil, it will only be available to Brazilian customers. However, Latam hopes to expand it to other Latam countries. Mercado Libre didn’t provide any information about this expansion. The initial phase of the expansion will be limited to 500,000 individuals, although it intends to eventually reach 80 million customers by September.
Token Details
Mercadocoin is set to be first launched with a $0.10 price. The company will then allow it to float on its own market. Mercado Libre has no plans to list this token on any external exchanges. However, ERC-20 tokens can be used for parallel markets.
Reuters explains this initiative as a token effort to address the challenges Brazil’s e-tailer company faces. It is up against fierce competition from foreign emerging companies such Sea Ltd and Alibaba, whose sales have significantly increased.
There will be two uses of the mercadocoin coin token. It can be used as a payment method for articles, but users also have the ability to use the trading services offered by Mercado Pago and then exchange the token for other cryptocurrency assets.
Mercado Libre’s crypto foray started last year, with the company launching trading services in November in Brazil. This month, the company revealed that they would expand their trading services into Latam.
Marcos Galperin (the founder of Mercado Libre) is also a strong believer in cryptocurrency. Although he declared bitcoin a more valuable store of value that gold, he questions the use of bitcoin due to its power required to send and receive it.
What do you think about Mercado Libre’s new rewards token? Leave a comment below.
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