The largest digital bank in Latin America and Brazil, Nubank, has announced that it has partnered with Paxos, a prominent cryptocurrency exchange platform, to enable Nubank customers to buy, sell, and store cryptocurrencies through the bank directly.
Initially, the bank is offering bitcoin and ether transactions, and it will roll out the new product throughout its 50 million customer base by the end of July, according to the announcement.
There is no doubt that crypto is a growing trend in Latin America, one that we have been following closely and believe will have a transformational impact on the region. Yet the trading experience is still very niche as customers either lack information to feel confident to enter this new market or just get frustrated by complex experiences.
David Vélez, CEO and Founder – Nubank
Additionally, the bank said the integration with cryptocurrencies will expand access to this growing market by eliminating complexity and friction for customers to buy, hold, and sell digital currencies through the app without opening new accounts or transferring cash.
Although the company confirmed plans to expand beyond just offering BTC and ETH in the future, it did not elaborate on which assets will be included. A set of APIs from Paxos will allow Nubank to offer crypto-enabled services to customers, similar to what Mercado Livre and PayPal provide in collaboration with Paxos.
In Brazil alone, Nubank has more than 50 million customers. With Latin America increasingly becoming a crypto hub, Paxos believes its partnership with the digital bank represents an important strategic move. The parent company of Nubank, Nu Holdings, is also reported to have purchased an amount of bitcoin equivalent to about 1% of its balance sheet.
The transaction reinforces the company’s conviction in the current and future potential of Bitcoin in the region’s financial services landscape.
Nubank Announced
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Brazilian B3 exchange have listed Nubank since December 2011. At the time of publication, the stock was down by 11% on both markets.
