Leading Brazilian payments application PicPay is foraying into cryptocurrencies by integrating a crypto exchange service, allowing users to buy Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH).
The firm officially announced on Wednesday that PicPay customers can now buy, sell and store the two major cryptocurrencies, BTC or ETH, directly on its app. PicPay explained that its choice was due to the actual use cases these digital assets offer, including security and many other benefits. The firm said:
“Blockchain technology, which is behind coins such as 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 leading crypto company Paxos and allows customers to use USDP, the US dollar-backed stablecoin issued by Paxos. Acting as a broker and custodian, Paxos is known for collaborating with some of the largest traditional financial firms in the world, such as PayPal and Venmo.
The integration is the first step for PicPay to introduce its 30 million customers to digital assets and help them understand how people can benefit from the potential of the growing asset class. The Brazilian fintech app is working on a feature to allow its customers to pay with crypto as well.
“Pickpay is one of the most disruptive players in payments in Brazil, and we aim to lead the growth of the crypto market,” said Bruno Gregory, Head of Crypto, PickPay. He added that one of the major challenges associated with crypto adoption is to eliminate its complexity by expanding knowledge of the technology so that everyone can take advantage of the new asset class.
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Cryptocurrency adoption in Brazil is starting recently, with major local crypto companies such as Mercado Bitcoin actively expanding operations. Local lawmakers are working to introduce crypto-friendly regulation, introducing a bill to legalize crypto payments in June 2022.
