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Blockchain fintech company Paxos and online marketplace MercadoLibre have partnered to bring the Pax Dollar (USDP) stablecoin to Mexico via payment service MercadoPago on June 28.
According to a press release provided by Cointelegraph, USDP will be available to all MercadoPago customers throughout Mexico. Although the company is based in the US and has offices in New York, London and Singapore, over 60% of its active wallets support clients throughout Latin America.
According to a Statista report, Mexico currently boasts a cryptocurrency penetration rate of 9.3%, with over 12 million users. Analysts estimate that more than 20 million people in Mexico will own crypto by 2027, resulting in an overall penetration rate of 14.6%.
The introduction of USDP into MercadoPago’s payment ecosystem adds stablecoin access to the service’s capabilities in Mexico, which could provide much-needed relief from additional remittance-related fees for a significant number of users.
While Venezuela may lead Latin America in cryptocurrency usage, Mexico ranks first in total transactions. This is largely due to the amount of remittances, with only India receiving more.
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Paxos is well known in the fintech space for its various deals, including its partnership with PayPal, and its notability as the first blockchain company to receive U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approval to settle U.S.-listed securities.
However, in February 2023, Paxos received a Wells notice stating that its Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin would be tagged as a security and, as such, must be registered.
As reported in February, the crypto community was baffled by the notice, and Paxos issued a statement strongly disagreeing with the SEC’s view that BUSD should be classified as a security.
In other Paxos news, the recently launched EDX cryptocurrency exchange has decided to change its custody service provider. The exchange will drop its current partner, Paxos, and touch Anchorage Digital instead. According to a Paxos spokesperson, EDX has made a change to ease the transition to a non-custodial offering at launch.