Mercado Coin Is Being Discontinued
The company notified users through the Mercado Pago digital wallet app and email. No public statement was issued. Mercado Libre introduced mercado coin in August 2022, starting in Brazil. The token was built as an ERC-20 asset on the Ethereum blockchain in partnership with crypto exchange Ripio and initially priced at roughly $0.10 per token.
Users earned it as cashback on purchases through Mercado Libre’s marketplace and could either spend mercado coin on the platform or cash it out. The intent was to bring everyday shoppers into the crypto space through a low-friction loyalty mechanism, no need to trade bitcoin or manage volatile assets. In practice, the token stayed inside the Mercado Libre ecosystem and never built meaningful traction elsewhere.
Starting April 17, users can no longer buy, sell, or earn mercado coin through the platform. Holders have three options before the deadline: sell tokens through the Mercado Pago app, spend the balance on Mercado Libre purchases, or do nothing. Any remaining balance after April 17 will be automatically converted to local fiat currency, Brazilian reais for most users, and deposited into their Mercado Pago account.
Mercado Libre gave no explanation in its user notifications for ending the program. The decision fits a pattern seen across large tech and e-commerce companies that built branded tokens during the 2021–2022 crypto expansion cycle. Many are stepping back from proprietary digital assets while keeping or expanding exposure to more established infrastructure like stablecoins and direct crypto trading.
Mercado Libre is not stepping away from crypto entirely. The company continues to offer crypto buying and selling, stablecoin transfers, and other digital asset services through Mercado Pago. It also launched its own dollar-backed stablecoin.
On the treasury side, Mercado Libre holds more than $38 million in bitcoin. The company first disclosed a $7.8 million BTC purchase in 2021 and held 570.4 BTC as of 2025 disclosures. For the roughly 2 million users who held mercado coin at various points, the shutdown carries little practical disruption.
The token had no active secondary market and no meaningful external liquidity. The auto-conversion safety net means holders do not need to take action to recover value. The shutdown reflects a clearer strategic direction for Mercado Libre’s fintech arm: move away from proprietary engagement tokens and focus on payment rails, stablecoins, and crypto custody that serve users across Latin America at scale.
Mercado Pago processes payments for hundreds of millions of users across the region. The company’s decision to retire a niche loyalty token while keeping broader crypto services active suggests the experiment was always peripheral to its core fintech build-out.
Mercado coin’s shutdown closes a chapter on one of Latin America’s more prominent corporate crypto loyalty programs, one that launched with regional ambitions but ended quietly with an auto-convert notice in a wallet app.
FAQ 🔎
- What is mercado coin? Mercado coin was an ERC-20 loyalty token launched by Mercado Libre in Brazil in August 2022 that let users earn cashback on purchases through the Mercado Libre marketplace.
- When does mercado coin shut down? Mercado coin will no longer be available to buy, sell, or earn starting April 17, 2026.
- What happens to remaining mercado coin balances after the shutdown? Any mercado coin balance not spent or sold by April 17, 2026 will be automatically converted to local fiat currency and deposited into the user’s Mercado Pago account.
- Is Mercado Libre leaving the crypto market? No — Mercado Libre continues to offer crypto trading, stablecoin services, and holds over $38 million in bitcoin on its balance sheet.
Source: https://news.bitcoin.com/mercado-libre-ends-mercado-coin-program-cites-no-official-reason/
