Mercado Libre Ends Mercado Coin Program, Cites No Official Reason

Mercado Coin Is Being Discontinued

The institution notified users done the Mercado Pago integer wallet app and email. No nationalist connection was issued. Mercado Libre introduced mercado coin successful August 2022, starting successful Brazil. The token was built arsenic an ERC-20 plus connected the Ethereum blockchain successful concern with crypto speech Ripio and initially priced astatine astir $0.10 per token.

Users earned it arsenic cashback connected purchases done Mercado Libre’s marketplace and could either walk mercado coin connected the level oregon currency it out. The intent was to bring mundane shoppers into the crypto abstraction done a low-friction loyalty mechanism, nary request to commercialized bitcoin oregon negociate volatile assets. In practice, the token stayed wrong the Mercado Libre ecosystem and ne'er built meaningful traction elsewhere.

Starting April 17, users tin nary longer buy, sell, oregon gain mercado coin done the platform. Holders person 3 options earlier the deadline: merchantability tokens done the Mercado Pago app, walk the equilibrium connected Mercado Libre purchases, oregon bash nothing. Any remaining equilibrium aft April 17 volition beryllium automatically converted to section fiat currency, Brazilian reais for astir users, and deposited into their Mercado Pago account.

Mercado Libre gave nary mentation successful its idiosyncratic notifications for ending the program. The determination fits a signifier seen crossed ample tech and e-commerce companies that built branded tokens during the 2021–2022 crypto enlargement cycle. Many are stepping backmost from proprietary integer assets portion keeping oregon expanding vulnerability to much established infrastructure similar stablecoins and nonstop crypto trading.

Mercado Libre is not stepping distant from crypto entirely. The institution continues to connection crypto buying and selling, stablecoin transfers, and different integer plus services done Mercado Pago. It besides launched its ain dollar-backed stablecoin.

On the treasury side, Mercado Libre holds much than $38 cardinal successful bitcoin. The institution archetypal disclosed a $7.8 cardinal BTC acquisition successful 2021 and held 570.4 BTC arsenic of 2025 disclosures. For the astir 2 cardinal users who held mercado coin astatine assorted points, the shutdown carries small applicable disruption.

The token had nary progressive secondary marketplace and nary meaningful outer liquidity. The auto-conversion information nett means holders bash not request to instrumentality enactment to retrieve value. The shutdown reflects a clearer strategical absorption for Mercado Libre’s fintech arm: determination distant from proprietary engagement tokens and absorption connected outgo rails, stablecoins, and crypto custody that service users crossed Latin America astatine scale.

Mercado Pago processes payments for hundreds of millions of users crossed the region. The company’s determination to discontinue a niche loyalty token portion keeping broader crypto services progressive suggests the experimentation was ever peripheral to its halfway fintech build-out.

Mercado coin’s shutdown closes a section connected 1 of Latin America’s much salient firm crypto loyalty programs, 1 that launched with determination ambitions but ended softly with an auto-convert announcement successful a wallet app.

FAQ 🔎

• What is mercado coin? Mercado coin was an ERC-20 loyalty token launched by Mercado Libre successful Brazil successful August 2022 that fto users gain cashback connected purchases done the Mercado Libre marketplace.
• When does mercado coin unopen down? Mercado coin volition nary longer beryllium disposable to buy, sell, oregon gain starting April 17, 2026.
• What happens to remaining mercado coin balances aft the shutdown? Any mercado coin equilibrium not spent oregon sold by April 17, 2026 volition beryllium automatically converted to section fiat currency and deposited into the user’s Mercado Pago account.
• Is Mercado Libre leaving the crypto market? No — Mercado Libre continues to connection crypto trading, stablecoin services, and holds implicit $38 cardinal successful bitcoin connected its equilibrium sheet.