Brazil-based digital payments app PicPay is set to launch a cryptocurrency trading platform for its 65 million users, as well as a stablecoin tied to the country’s fiat currency, the Brazilian real. The exchange is the fintech firm’s first cryptocurrency-related offering.
PicPay’s digital assets exchange will allow users to buy, sell, and hold Bitcoin ($BTC), Ethereum ($ETH), and Paxos’ $USDP stablecoin. In a statement Anderson Chamon, VP of technology and products at PicPay, said:
The user who wants to know where to buy cryptocurrencies will be able to do everything through the app, with a very simple, practical and safe experience.
The firm is also looking to integrate cryptocurrency payments into the Brazilian economy and is looking to enter the cryptocurrency space to “lead its popularization not only as an investment, but also as a way to decentralize payments and other financial services.”
PicPay’s users will have access to educational material in its app to further their cryptocurrency knowledge, and will have access to a stablecoin being developed by the firm called Brazilian Real Coin ($BRC). Its value will be equivalent to that of the real. The stablecoin could still be available this year, the announcement says.
Whether users will be able to use the platform to withdraw crypto to external wallets is unclear. The firm announced it reached 65 million users back in April, growing from 38.8 million in 2020 and 50 million at the end of 2021.
PicPay’s move sees it join Nubank, a Brazilian digital bank backed by Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett, which announced it was investing 1% of its assets into Bitcoin ($BTC) and adding buying and selling options for its users back in May.
The move comes at a time in which the so-called Coinbase Premium index has turned positive for the second time since April of this year after a cryptocurrency market recovery that has seen the space’s market capitalization briefly surpassed the $1 trillion mark
The Coinbase premium index is an indicator showing the price gap between Coinbase’s BTC/USD trading pair and Binance’s BTC/USDT pair. When the premium is positive, it shows buying pressure on the exchange is heating up.
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