Latin America’s Biggest Marketplace Now Accepting Bitcoin for Real Estate

Mercadolibre, the largest Latin American E-commerce, and Payment platform enabled its users to purchase real estate using Bitcoin.

While the Argentinan giant will to settling transactions directly through its platform, the use of Bitcoin as a valid payment method in the South American continent is sure to boost the adoption of cryptocurrencies in the continent.

South America has shown an increasingly friendly attitude towards cryptocurrencies, especially in countries like Argentina which have experienced increasing currency controls over the past years.

Now, the acceptance of Bitcoin by the $81-billion retailer will further legitimize the use of cryptocurrency as an alternative to the US dollar in the real estate market. This will likely boost the use of Bitcoin in many Latin markets.

At this time, the service is only available for the purchase of real estate in some of Argentina’s biggest cities but it is expected to expand in the future due to the interest that a crypto and blockchain webinar sparked among more than 300 realtors and investors.

Juan Manuel Carretero, Mercado Libre’s Commercial Director for Vehicles and Real Estate, referred to the new option by stating that, “Bitcoin offers multiple advantages for real estate operations, both for the buyer and for the seller”.

Mercadolibre is Boosting Crypto Adoption in Latin America

The company was originally founded in Argentina but has expanded its presence to 18 countries in the region, including all of South America’s biggest economies. It also expanded its services by creating the “Mercado Pago” digital payment platform, which has gained popularity over the years as an alternative to cash and debit cards.

In the announcement, Carretero also stated that the company was “always alert to the changes in the market”. He also said that the company has seen a tendency towards the use of crypto over the years as the new payment method has paved new ways for all industries involved in high-value transactions.

With Mercadolibre and other foreign companies growing interested in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, South American residents can enjoy new ways to use their crypto holdings to push back against growing inflation, economic controls, and other economic difficulties that have arisen in the region.

If the company was to continue with the trend and expand the use of cryptocurrency to its other features, it would certainly cause a ripple effect across the region as one of the most influential companies, especially due to the increasing use of the platform’s QR payment and other financial tools it offers.

A Month of Good News for Crypto In Argentina

April has been a month of increasingly good news for the cryptocurrency industry in Argentina, as Bitcoin Mining giant Bitfarms announced earlier on the 19th that it would be expanding its South American presence by launching in Argentina its biggest operations yet.

The new Bitcoin mining facility is expected to be built and operational by 2022 and will make use of some of the hardware recently acquired by the company as well as some of its older rigs, which are expected to enjoy a higher life cycle with the move.

On the other hand, a local crypto exchange by the name of Ripio also informed in April that 2020 had resulted in the duplication of its userbase as a result of the increasing interest in crypto experienced by the local population.

Argentina is one of the Latin American countries with the most friendly attitude towards crypto, a sentiment not only enjoyed by its citizens and residents but also by its government, who this year also announced plans to try to pass legislation to create a regulatory framework that enables the further growth of the industry.

Contributed by Blockonomi.