Mercado Bitcoin has been Officially Licensed by Brazil’s Central Bank
- Brazilian crypto exchange Mercado Bitcoin has obtained licensing from the central bank of the country.
- The license will allow the crypto platform to debut its fintech solution, MB Pay, which was first unveiled in 2021.
- A debit card from Mercado Bitcoin will soon debut and will act as a crypto off-ramp for users of the crypto platform.
- Recently, Guide Investimentos, a traditional local broker, confirmed its partnership with the crypto firm.
The 2022 crypto market collapse has not deterred regulators from around the world from adopting blockchain and Web3 technology. Multiple crypto trading platforms have been granted licenses in recent history, and it seems that the trend is not going anywhere soon. As per a recent turn of events, Mercado Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency exchange platform based in Brazil that allows users to trade digital assets, has confirmed receiving a license from the Central Bank of Brazil, which enables it to debut MB Pay, a fintech solution that will enable the platform’s users to easily use crypto assets.
As per local media reports, Mercado Bitcoin has been officially granted the payment provider license by the country’s central bank, and with the debut of MB Pay, Brazilian users will be allowed access to specific digital banking services via crypto assets held on the trading platform. These services include digital fixed-income investments, staking, and other financial transactions.
It is also crucial to note that a debit card from Mercado Bitcoin will soon debut and will act as a crypto off-ramp for users of the crypto trading platform. The CEO of 2TM, the parent company of the Brazil-based digital asset firm, Roberto Dagnoni, said:
“The approval of the Central Bank is a crucial step, as it allows us to continue expanding our business and providing a better service to our customers.”
Additionally, Guide Investimentos, a traditional Brazilian broker, confirmed its partnership with Mercado Bitcoin in order to enter the digital asset market. Moreover, MB Pay’s first rollout was announced in the bull market of 2021, which saw a huge influx of capital from the Latin American region, but the process was delayed due to regulatory reasons.
Not only Mercado Bitcoin but other crypto exchanges have decided to expand operations in the Latin American region and establish their dominance there. Previously, the world’s biggest crypto exchange by trading volume, Binance, announced that Brazil ranked among its top five crypto hubs, and the exchange expressed interest in expanding operations in the region.
The new card that Mercado Bitcoin is set to release will face strong competition from the existing card that Binance and American multinational payment network Mastercard launched in Brazil at the beginning of the year.
This was the second such card to be launched in Latin America after Argentina. At that time, Marcelo Tangioni, the president of Mastercard, stated that “Brazilians are eager to use cryptocurrency beyond an investment asset.”
A number of crypto exchanges have applied to be licensed to operate in Brazil. Latam Gateway, the payment partner of Binance in Brazil, recently obtained the license to operate as a payment institution in the country. The two firms have been working together since June 2022, when Latam Gateway ended its partnership with Capitual.
A crypto journalist with over 3 years of experience in DeFi, NFT, metaverse, etc. Parth has worked with major media outlets in the crypto and finance world and has gained experience and expertise in crypto culture after surviving bear and bull markets over the years.
