Latin American e-commerce giant MercadoLibre is discontinuing its proprietary cryptocurrency, Mercado Coin, nearly four years after its launch. The company announced the move via a notification and email sent through its Mercado Pago digital wallet platform.
Starting April 17, 2026, users will no longer be able to buy, sell, or earn cashback in Mercado Coin, effectively ending the token's role within the Mercado Libre ecosystem. The token was originally launched in August 2022 in Brazil before expanding to other markets. It was built on Ethereum's ERC-20 standard and was accessible exclusively through the Mercado Pago app.
The token was designed as a purchase rewards mechanism, offering incentives for buying products on the platform. These rewards could be used for future purchases or cashed out. The trading side of the token was operated in partnership with cryptocurrency exchange Ripio.
Users currently holding Mercado Coin have three options before the shutdown: they can sell the tokens through the app, spend them as purchase credits on MercadoLibre, or allow an automatic conversion to local fiat currency. Any remaining balances not manually handled by users will be automatically deposited into their accounts after the April 17 cutoff date.
Notably, Mercado Libre did not provide a public explanation for the decision in its customer notice and offered no official statement on why it chose to terminate the program at this time.
Despite shutting down Mercado Coin, MercadoLibre is not retreating from cryptocurrency entirely. The company continues to support stablecoin transfers and token trading through Mercado Pago. Furthermore, it holds a significant bitcoin treasury of over $38 million on its balance sheet and maintains its own dollar-backed stablecoin, which remains active.
This move suggests a strategic shift away from proprietary reward tokens toward more established digital assets like bitcoin and stablecoins. It aligns with a broader trend among large technology companies that launched branded digital tokens in the early 2020s, many of which have since been quietly discontinued.
