Coinbase is expanding into Brazil and supporting the central bank's PIX payment system

Coinbase is expanding into Brazil and supporting the central bank's PIX payment system

The Brazilian market welcomes Coinbase, the latest global crypto exchange to enter the country, ready to compete with other established giants such as Binance, Mercado Pago and Nubank, which have been operating in Brazil for years and have a huge number of users.

On March 21, Coinbase, the US-based cryptocurrency exchange, announced its expansion into Brazil through a series of updates that will streamline user transactions.

According to the announcement, the company's goal is to make cryptocurrencies accessible to all Brazilians while ensuring the security of its customers' assets.

3/ To support the UK's ambition to become a global crypto hub, today we have set out the key principles that we believe will help deliver the inspiring goal of Global Britain. More here 👇https://t.co/QVBxYGfHu2

– Nana Murugesan (@NanaMurugesan) March 15, 2023

Bem Vindos, Coinbase

To achieve its goals, Coinbase said it is integrating with Brazil's instant payment system “Pix,” which has become the most widely used by its citizens, according to the Brazilian Banking Association (Febraban).

“First, we have made it easy for you to fund and withdraw funds from your Coinbase account with Brazilian reals thanks to our integration with Pix, a well-known instant payments platform created and managed by the Central Bank of Brazil.”

Pix is ​​a payment system that essentially offers a similar user experience to a cryptocurrency transaction. People scan a QR code or receive a “key” from the recipient and send money instantly with no fees.

Additionally, Coinbase partnered with EBANX Payments, a fintech company focused on helping global merchants grow exponentially through its payments solution that enables businesses worldwide to trade securely with Latin Americans. Currently, EBANX processes payments for leading merchants from over 50 countries including the US and China.

Similarly, Coinbase announced that its trading platform would be fully adapted to Brazilian Portuguese to provide a better experience for its users. They also offer native language chat support available 24/7.

Brazil: The first stop on a long journey

One of Coinbase’s main goals is to “bring financial freedom to even more Brazilians through the crypto economy.” To achieve this goal, Fabio Plein, who served as the exchange's Country Director, will expand his role as Regional Managing Director to expand the company's relationships in Brazil and Latin America.

According to Bloomberg, the company's new launch in Brazil is part of the international expansion program launched last week to expand into a maximum of ten global markets, including the United Kingdom, Austria, Singapore and Brazil, among others.

In an interview with Bloomberg Online, Nana Murugesan, vice president of business development and international at Coinbase, said that Coinbase cannot invest in all countries at the same time, so it will deepen its presence in the selected countries before moving on to new ones.

Murugesan also emphasized that the expansion into Brazil comes due to the country's importance in terms of cryptocurrency adoption in Latin America, as the nation is “one of the first countries on the cryptocurrency adoption index.” This reflects the huge business opportunity they could have in the South American country.

At the moment, Binance and Crypto.com are Coinbase's two largest global competitors with registered legal entities in Brazil. Regional exchanges include MercadoBitcoin, Novadax, Biscoint and some brokers offering indirect exposure to crypto including XP, Mercadopago, Itaú, 99Pay and Nubank.

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