Major Brazilian payment app PicPay is transitioning to cryptocurrency by integrating a cryptocurrency exchange service that allows users to buy Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH).
The company officially announced on Wednesday that PicPay customers can now buy, sell and store two major cryptocurrencies, BTC or ETH, directly on its app. PicPay indicated that its choice was due to the real use cases that these digital assets offer, including security and many other benefits. The company stated:
“Blockchain technology, which is behind currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, is already used in the real estate sector, the insurance industry and even the art market, through non-fungible tokens.”
The new crypto feature is enabled through a partnership with major crypto company Paxos and allows customers to use the USDP-backed stablecoin issued by Paxos. As a broker and custodian, Paxos is known for collaborating with some of the largest traditional financial companies in the world such as PayPal and Venmo.
The integration is the first step for PicPay to offer its 30 million customers with digital assets and help them understand how people can tap into the potential of the growing asset class. The Brazilian fintech app is working on a feature to allow their customers to pay with cryptocurrency as well.
“PicPay is one of the most disruptive players in payments in Brazil, and our goal is to lead the growth of the crypto market,” said Bruno Gregory, head of crypto at PicPay. He added that one of the main challenges associated with crypto adoption is to eliminate its complexity by expanding information about the technology so that everyone can benefit from the new asset class.
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Cryptocurrency adoption in Brazil has recently begun, with major domestic crypto companies such as Mercado Bitcoin actively expanding their operations. Local lawmakers are working to introduce crypto-friendly regulation, as they launched a bill to legalize crypto payments in June 2022.
