Brazil's Nubank's Stablecoin Shift: Banking Meets Blockchain
(MENAFN- The Rio Times) Nubank will let customers pay with dollar-pegged stablecoins on its credit cards. The bank announced this at Meridian 2025 to link blockchain assets with everyday banking.
It first bought Bitcoin with 1 percent of its net assets in 2022 and added four altcoins-Cardano, Cosmos, Near Protocol and Algorand-in March 2025.
Behind this move lies Latin America's struggle with volatile currencies and high remittance costs. Brazilians already use stablecoins for 90 percent of crypto transactions by volume, according to the Central Bank of Brazil.
In Argentina, USDT and USDC made up 72 percent of crypto purchases in 2024 on a major exchange. In Venezuela, steep inflation pushed nearly half of small crypto transactions into stablecoins.
Regulators now back tokenized money. Brazil's central bank explores a digital real alongside stablecoin rules. Congress debates legal frameworks to let banks issue tokenized deposits and credit.
This regulatory clarity will let banks transform stablecoins into everyday savings and loan products. Competitors prepare similar steps. Itaú Unibanco intends its own stablecoin once rules firm up.
Banco Inter views stablecoins as a natural complement to Pix for cross-border transfers. Together, these moves promise lower fees, faster payments and broader credit access in markets long challenged by inflation and limited banking.
This pilot marks a turning point. Nubank 's integration test shows how blockchain can solve real banking problems-from cutting conversion fees to unlocking new credit options-making finance more inclusive and efficient worldwide.
It first bought Bitcoin with 1 percent of its net assets in 2022 and added four altcoins-Cardano, Cosmos, Near Protocol and Algorand-in March 2025.
Behind this move lies Latin America's struggle with volatile currencies and high remittance costs. Brazilians already use stablecoins for 90 percent of crypto transactions by volume, according to the Central Bank of Brazil.
In Argentina, USDT and USDC made up 72 percent of crypto purchases in 2024 on a major exchange. In Venezuela, steep inflation pushed nearly half of small crypto transactions into stablecoins.
Regulators now back tokenized money. Brazil's central bank explores a digital real alongside stablecoin rules. Congress debates legal frameworks to let banks issue tokenized deposits and credit.
This regulatory clarity will let banks transform stablecoins into everyday savings and loan products. Competitors prepare similar steps. Itaú Unibanco intends its own stablecoin once rules firm up.
Banco Inter views stablecoins as a natural complement to Pix for cross-border transfers. Together, these moves promise lower fees, faster payments and broader credit access in markets long challenged by inflation and limited banking.
This pilot marks a turning point. Nubank 's integration test shows how blockchain can solve real banking problems-from cutting conversion fees to unlocking new credit options-making finance more inclusive and efficient worldwide.
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