Mercado Pago Partners With Paxos to Bring Bitcoin and Ethereum to Millions of Brazilians

In a move that could accelerate cryptocurrency adoption across Latin America, Mercado Libre’s financial services arm Mercado Pago announced a partnership with blockchain infrastructure firm Paxos on December 2, 2021, to enable Brazilian users to buy, sell, and hold digital assets directly within the popular payments app.

The integration will initially support Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and the Pax Dollar (USDP) stablecoin, giving tens of millions of Brazilian users seamless access to cryptocurrencies without the need to open an account at a separate exchange. The feature was expected to roll out before the end of December 2021.

TL;DR

• Mercado Pago partners with Paxos to offer crypto trading within its popular Brazilian payments app
• Users can buy BTC, ETH, and USDP using their existing fiat balance
• Paxos handles trading and custody, the same infrastructure powering PayPal’s crypto services
• The move targets Brazil’s massive unbanked and underbanked population
• Bitcoin was trading at $56,477 and Ethereum at $4,511 at the time of the announcement

Biggest Crypto Market in Latin America

The partnership between Mercado Pago and Paxos represented one of the most significant crypto adoption milestones in Latin America. Mercado Libre, often called the “Amazon of Latin America,” operated the region’s largest e-commerce and fintech platform, with Mercado Pago serving as its primary financial services arm. By embedding cryptocurrency functionality into an app that millions of Brazilians already used daily for payments and money transfers, the partnership eliminated one of the biggest barriers to crypto adoption: the friction of signing up for a dedicated exchange.

Walter Hessert, Head of Strategy at Paxos, described the partnership as a “transformative moment for Latin America,” emphasizing that Mercado Pago would be able to offer seamless access to crypto and stablecoins for millions of Brazilians. He predicted the move would “accelerate mainstream adoption of cryptocurrency and stablecoins across the continent.”

Following PayPal’s Playbook

The infrastructure model behind Mercado Pago’s crypto integration mirrored Paxos’ successful partnership with PayPal, which had allowed the payments giant to offer cryptocurrency buying, selling, and holding to its massive user base starting in late 2020. Under this arrangement, Paxos handled the complex backend operations—crypto trading execution, custody, and regulatory compliance—while Mercado Pago provided the consumer-facing experience.

This turnkey approach had proven effective in lowering the barrier to entry for mainstream users who were curious about crypto but intimidated by the complexity of dedicated exchanges. By allowing users to purchase cryptocurrency using their existing fiat balance directly within the Mercado Pago app, the partnership removed the need for bank transfers to external platforms or complicated wallet setups.

Brazil’s Growing Crypto Appetite

Brazil had emerged as one of the world’s most dynamic cryptocurrency markets in 2021, driven by a combination of factors including high inflation, a large unbanked population, and growing digital literacy. The country’s central bank had been developing its own digital currency, the digital real, signaling institutional acceptance of blockchain-based financial innovation.

Against this backdrop, the Mercado Pago-Paxos partnership was well-positioned to capitalize on surging demand. At the time of the announcement, Bitcoin was trading at $56,477 with a market cap of $1.07 trillion, while Ethereum stood at $4,511 with a market cap of $535 billion, according to CoinMarketCap data. The broader crypto market was valued at approximately $2.56 trillion, with the DeFi sector hitting a record $256 billion in total value locked.

Stablecoins as the Bridge

The inclusion of the Pax Dollar (USDP) stablecoin in the initial rollout was a strategic choice that reflected the growing importance of dollar-pegged digital assets in emerging markets. For Brazilian users dealing with currency volatility and inflation concerns, stablecoins offered a way to access dollar-denominated savings without needing a traditional bank account or foreign exchange access.

However, the stablecoin sector was facing its own regulatory headwinds on the same day. SEC Chair Gary Gensler, speaking before the Investor Advisory Committee on December 2, likened stablecoins to “poker chips” and called for tighter oversight of the market, which had grown beyond $130 billion in total capitalization. Despite the regulatory uncertainty, the inclusion of USDP in Mercado Pago’s offering signaled confidence that compliant stablecoins would continue to play a central role in expanding crypto access.

WisdomTree Expands Crypto Access in Europe

Also on December 2, asset manager WisdomTree listed the first cryptocurrency basket exchange-traded product (ETP) on Euronext exchanges in Paris and Amsterdam. The WisdomTree Crypto Mega Cap Equal Weight (MEGA) provided investors with equal-weighted exposure to Bitcoin and Ethereum through a physically backed structure, with a total expense ratio of 0.95%—making it the lowest-priced crypto basket ETP in Europe at the time.

The product had initially launched in November 2021 on Börse Xetra and SIX Swiss Exchange before expanding to the French and Dutch markets. Jason Guthrie, Head of Digital Assets for Europe at WisdomTree, noted that the ETP was designed for investors seeking diversified exposure to the most established cryptocurrencies with the added benefit of regular rebalancing.

Why This Matters

December 2, 2021, was a landmark day for cryptocurrency accessibility. While Mercado Pago and Paxos were working to bring crypto to millions of Brazilians through a familiar payments app, WisdomTree was giving European investors a regulated, exchange-listed vehicle to gain exposure to Bitcoin and Ethereum. Together, these developments represented the two frontiers of crypto adoption: retail access in emerging markets and institutional-grade products in developed economies.

With Bitcoin hovering around $56,000 despite macroeconomic headwinds from the Omicron variant, and the DeFi ecosystem at record highs, the infrastructure being built around cryptocurrencies was arguably more significant than any single day’s price movement. The partnerships and products announced on this date would help shape how millions of people around the world first interacted with digital assets.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Cryptocurrency investments carry significant risk. Always conduct your own research before making investment decisions.