Biggest Latin American E-commerce Firm MercadoLibre Bought $7.8 Million Bitcoin in Q1

Biggest Latin American E-commerce Giant MercadoLibre Bought $7.8 Million Bitcoin, according to their Q1 financial statement published earlier this week.

The largest e-commerce company in Latin America, MercadoLibre, has revealed that it is holding some Bitcoin (BTC) as part of its treasury reserve. The company made this known as the largest online commerce and payments ecosystem in Latin America.

MercadoLibre Added Bitcoin to its Reserve in Q1

The company purchased $7.8 million worth of Bitcoin as part of its treasury reserve in the first quarter of 2021, although the exact date of the purchase wasn’t disclosed.

As part of our treasury strategy this quarter we purchased $7.8 million in bitcoin, a digital asset that we are disclosing within our indefinite-lived intangible assets.

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MercadoLibre precisely noted.

MercadoLibre is considered the Alibaba of Latin America. The Argentina-based e-commerce giant sees nearly 70 million users and a market capitalization of over $73 million. Owing to its popularity, we can expect more companies in Latin America to follow suit by adding Bitcoin to their balance sheet.

Many companies, including Tesla, added Bitcoin to their treasury reserve this year, as a better store of value. Some bought Bitcoin to hedge against inflation.

Interest in Bitcoin Soars in Argentina

It even makes sense that MercadoLibre bought Bitcoin in the first quarter of the year, just when the rate of inflation increased in Argentina. The national currency has been deflating in value as the inflation rate in Argentina soars to over 40 percent.

Interestingly, the concern for the declining value of the currency has sparked a high level of interest in Bitcoin amongst Argentines, as they seek a viable alternative to hedge against inflation. This is evident as crypto exchanges are seeing an increase in user accounts from Argentines who are investing in cryptocurrencies.