Two major developments are drawing attention across Latin America’s crypto and digital payments landscape: Brazil’s central bank is preparing the next phase of Pix with an international expansion, while Mercado Libre is shutting down its Mercado Coin program and moving users back into local fiat balances.
Pix moves toward cross-border payments
According to local reports, the Central Bank of Brazil is planning an “International Pix” feature that would allow individuals and businesses to make cross-border payments and remittances through the country’s instant payment network. Pix already has some international availability in Argentina, the United States, and Portugal, but the new initiative would make that reach more permanent and standardized by connecting domestic instant payment systems and streamlining settlement.
Since its launch in November 2020, Pix has grown into one of the most important payment rails in Brazil. The network now serves more than 175 million users and has processed nearly 200 billion transactions. With that scale, an international rollout could extend Pix’s influence beyond domestic retail transfers into remittances and cross-border commerce.
Mercado Libre ends Mercado Coin
At the same time, Mercado Libre has informed users through the Mercado Pago wallet app and by email that Mercado Coin is being discontinued, without issuing a public explanation. The token was introduced in August 2022, initially in Brazil, as an ERC-20 asset on Ethereum in partnership with crypto exchange platform Ripio, with an initial price of about $0.10.
Mercado Coin was designed as a loyalty tool: users earned it as cashback on Mercado Libre purchases and could either spend it within the platform or redeem it for cash. The idea was to bring mainstream shoppers closer to crypto through a simple rewards mechanism rather than direct exposure to more volatile assets such as bitcoin. In practice, however, the token remained largely confined to Mercado Libre’s own ecosystem and never gained broader traction.
Starting on April 17, users will no longer be able to buy, sell, or earn Mercado Coin through the platform. Before the deadline, holders can sell their tokens in Mercado Pago, spend them on Mercado Libre, or take no action. Any remaining balance after that date will be automatically converted into local fiat currency and deposited into the user’s Mercado Pago account. For most users in Brazil, that means a conversion into Brazilian reais.
Political and competitive pressure around Pix
Pix is also becoming part of a broader political and competitive debate ahead of Brazil’s presidential election. A recent report from the Office of the United States Trade Representative said U.S. industry representatives are concerned that the Brazilian central bank may be favoring Pix in ways that disadvantage American electronic payment providers. The report also noted that financial institutions with more than 500,000 accounts are required to adopt Pix.
That puts Pix at the center of a larger discussion about public payment infrastructure, market competition, and financial sovereignty. For established card networks such as Visa and Mastercard, the continued expansion of Pix — especially if it becomes a durable international standard — could represent a more direct challenge from a state-backed instant payment system.