Mercado Libre is the largest online real estate corporation in South America. The real estate mogul has recently introduced a dedicated cryptocurrency section on its official website. The value of the South American real estate agency can be weighed in at a whopping $81 billion as of last year.
Although the website does not provide a direct purchase option for buyers with cryptocurrencies, it is still a huge step forward in crypto integration. The company’s officials have gestured that the current transition is signaling towards the ultimate goal of providing direct crypto exposure into real estate. The South American real estate group already owns a digital payment platform called Mercado Pago that is functional both online and offline.
Citizen of Argentina Turning to Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies
The year 2020 has not been kind on any economy of the world. Both developed and developing countries felt the destructive effects of the COVID-10 pandemic. Many businesses have gone broke, and countless people have lost their jobs. Argentina is among the countries that have been witnessed severe impacts of the ongoing pandemic destruction.
In the previous year, the GDP of the country dropped by 20%, and inflation reached a staggering high rank of 42.6%. It means that the purchasing power of fiat currency has been halved. People are desperately turning to the cryptocurrency market to get some relief and put their savings into digital assets to turn them into profits. Since the banks have put a limit of purchasing no more than $200 foreign fiat, the locals have nowhere to turn other than cryptocurrencies.
The Increasing Popularity of Bitcoin in South American Businesses and Retail Markets
At one end, powerful and stable businesses like Mercado Libre have been transitioning into cryptocurrencies. On the other hand, retail investors are turning to digital assets as a means of need base commodity. Three hundred real estate agents attended a recent webinar hosted by the central management of Marcado. For the time being, the real estate prices are only quoted in fiat currencies on the real estate website.
However, the increasing voluntary and involuntary interest in the Bitcoin space had been able to make a possible passageway for crypto market growth and adoption. The buyers of the property also have the option to contact the real estate agency and request a crypto payment contract.