Mercado Libre Abandons Crypto Rewards Token in Favor of Stablecoins

Latin America's largest e-commerce and fintech platform, Mercado Libre, has made a strategic shift in its crypto strategy by discontinuing its rewards token, Mercado Coin. Launched in 2022 on the Ethereum blockchain as an ERC-20 token, Mercado Coin allowed users to earn rewards for purchases and spend them on the platform.

However, despite initial interest, adoption remained limited due to token volatility, which reduced its appeal as a practical tool for consumers. In contrast, MeliDolar, a U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin backed by Treasuries and dollar deposits, has gained traction with users in countries with fluctuating local currencies.

The introduction of MeliDolar reflects a broader trend in Latin America's fintech and crypto ecosystems, where companies are prioritizing practical stablecoins over speculative reward tokens to better serve consumers in volatile financial environments. This shift is also evident in the experiences of other platforms, such as Nubank's Nucoin, which lost most of its value and was fully discontinued.