The biggest e-commerce store in Latin America is the latest major company in the region to join the crypto adoption movement. Mercado Libre is now allowing its customers to buy a selected number of properties from real estate agencies with bitcoin.
Properties Listed Don’t Offer Alternative Payment Methods Aside From Bitcoin
According to the announcement, the firm created 20 years ago offers 75 properties on sale from seven agencies that accept bitcoin (BTC) as the only payment method. The houses, apartments, lands, among others, are located in several Argentinean cities, such as Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, and Cordoba.
Mercado Libre believes that cryptocurrencies are an “innovative value haven,” as their traceability, speediness, and security make it a proper way to arrange payments.
In fact, the e-commerce store offered a webinar where it provided further information on cryptos targeting over 300 real estate agencies.
Juan Manuel Carretero, commercial manager of Vehicles, Real Estate and Free Market Services at Mercado Libre, praised bitcoin’s role in the way that people are paying for goods nowadays:
We are always attentive to the changes that occur in the market. Bitcoin offers multiple advantages for real estate operations, both for the buyer and for the seller. Today we launch the crypto section within Mercado Libre Inmuebles, and in a few hours, there are already 75 properties available. We expect many more as the days go by because far from being a fashion, we see that it is a trend that will consolidate over time.
The process to acquire a property with BTC is simple – said the company, as the interested people should choose its preferred one, listed in fiat increments, then reach out to the agency and agree upon the bitcoin payment at the exchange price of the day.
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Mercado Libre CEO’s Interest on Bitcoin
The interest of Mercado Libre in cryptocurrencies goes in line with comments from its CEO early this year. Marcos Galpering, Argentine billionaire and CEO of the e-commerce platform, said bitcoin is a better store of value than gold.
However, the billionaire believes the current dominant cryptocurrency will not replace fiat currency due to what he terms the high “energy cost required to process its transfers.”
What do you think about Mercado Libre’s announcement? Let us know in the comments section below.
