Picpay, a payments and wallet app, is now providing cryptocurrency services to more than 30 million users in Brazil. The company, that had announced this rollout last month, now allows its customers to purchase, hold, and sell digital assets from its platform. The organization partnered with Paxos, the issuer of the pax dollars stablecoin, in order to provide these services.
Picpay Launches Crypto Trading Services in Brazil
Fintech companies are introducing crypto as a way of getting their customers acquainted with cryptocurrency as an alternative investment opportunity. Picpay, one of the biggest payment and wallet apps in Brazil, has announced the rollout of its cryptocurrency trading services program in the country. The company, which has now more than 30 million active users, will allow them to purchase, hold, and sell cryptocurrencies directly through its app.
The exchange and settlement services will be provided by Paxos, a New York-based blockchain services platform. In the service’s first iteration, Picpay is only listing bitcoin, ethereum, and Paxos’ own dollar-pegged stablecoin, USDP, on its internal exchange. However, the company has plans to list more than 100 cryptocurrencies.
About the importance of this new development, Bruno Gregory, head of crypto at Picpay, stated:
Our goal is to lead the growth of the crypto market, by eliminating the complexity that is still associated with it and expanding information on the technology, so that everyone can take advantage of this asset class and technology.
Stablecoin and Payment Plans
Picpay aims to go beyond just entering the crypto market in Brazil by offering crypto investments to the average Brazilian. The organization is working on a service to allow crypto users to make payments directly with crypto, without having to exchange these assets for fiat money first.
In the same way, the system will liquidate the cryptocurrency assets for the merchants receiving crypto, protecting them from volatility and allowing them to store stable assets. In this same vein, Picpay plans to issue its own Brazilian real-pegged stablecoin, with the intention of using it for payments with the app or a different wallet.
According to statements made by Anderson Chamon, co-founder and vice president of products and technology at Picpay, this would allow tourists to purchase this token on any exchange and to make payments with the digital token directly to Picpay-enabled merchants.
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