From April 17, users will no longer be able to buy, sell or earn cashback in Mercado Coin, but will be able to sell, spend or have the token converted into local currency.
31 mars 2026, 2:49 p.m.
Translated by IA
E-commerce giant Mercado Libre (MELI) is discontinuing its in-house cryptocurrency, Mercado Coin, almost four years after its introduction to strengthen customer engagement across its platform.
The e-commerce giant announced the decision via a notification and email sent by Mercado Pago, its digital wallet, which will manage the phase-out. Starting April 17, users will no longer be able to buy, sell or earn cashback in Mercado Coin, thus ending its usefulness within the ecosystem.
Launched in August 2022 in Brazil before expanding to other markets, Mercado Coin was presented as a way to reward users for purchases on the platform.
Participating products offered incentives in the form of tokens that could be used for future purchases or exchanged for cash. The token, built according to Ethereum’s ERC-20 standard, was accessible via the Mercado Pago application and worked in partnership with the crypto exchange platform Ripio.
Now, users holding Mercado Coin have several options. They can sell their tokens through the app, spend them as shopping credits on Mercado Libre, or wait for automatic conversion to their local fiat currency, which will be deposited into their accounts.
Although the company did not explain its decision in its customer advisory, the withdrawal comes as major technology companies reconsider their approach to branded digital assets.
Mercado Libre continues to support cryptocurrency-related features such as stablecoin transfers and token trading through Mercado Pago, and holds over $38 million in bitcoin BTC$68 798,34 in its balance sheet. The company also has its own dollar-backed stablecoin.
