Mercado Libre is winding down Mercado Coin, the loyalty token it launched in August 2022 that gave shoppers cashback and other perks. Reuters reported users must sell or spend any Mercado Coin balances through the Mercado Pago app by April 17; balances left untouched after that date will be converted into Brazilian reals. Cointelegraph said it contacted Mercado Libre for comment.
Brazil was the token’s main market. Mercado Coin let customers earn tokens as a form of cashback when purchasing on Mercado Libre, but the company will retire the program while keeping other crypto services in place. Mercado Libre continues to support Meli Dólar (MUSD), a U.S. dollar–pegged stablecoin introduced in 2024. MUSD is used for day-to-day transactions and peer-to-peer payments on the platform, and Meli+ subscribers can receive cashback when buying MUSD. An attestation report dated Feb. 28 states that MUSD balances are backed by roughly $75 million in assets.
The decision comes amid broader challenges for issuer-branded loyalty tokens in the region. Nubank’s Nucoin, launched in late 2022 and initially airdropped to many customers, plunged in value—losing about 97% by September 2024—leading to a suspension of trading. Nubank later retooled Nucoin into a rewards-focused program, removing market-facing features and concentrating on engagement, perks and in-app benefits.
Mercado Libre has also maintained a corporate Bitcoin position. Data from BitcoinTreasuries.NET show the company holds 570.4 BTC, valued at roughly $38.85 million on its balance sheet. Mercado Libre first bought Bitcoin in 2021 and has not sold those holdings; the position is up about 77% versus the average purchase price of $38,569.
News outlets covering the change have urged readers to verify details independently and noted they reached out to Mercado Libre for comment.