Largest Brazilian Cryptocurrency Exchange, Mercado Bitcoin, Incorporates INJ Token

As the leading cryptocurrency exchange in Brazil, Mercado Bitcoin, has now incorporated INJ — the principal token behind the Injective Layer-1 blockchain network.

An announcement from Injective on Dec. 23 revealed a notable milestone: the incorporation of its core token, INJ, within Latin America’s pioneering exchange, Mercado Bitcoin. This integration can be seen in the details provided on their official post.

This strategic development affords Mercado Bitcoin’s user base of more than 3 million customers the opportunity to seamlessly tap into the Injective protocol by leveraging native currency such as the Brazilian Real. The integration facilitates a direct conduit to the crypto ecosystem, offering easy engagement with the DeFi sector that’s backed by Injective, hosting a notable $43 million in total value locked as per the analytics of Defillama.

A subsequent effect of this integration saw the valuation of INJ experience a notable uptick—approximately 15.6% rise—escalating from a day’s low of $20.52 to a high of $23.72 in the initial trading hours on Dec. 24.

Established in 2013, Mercado Bitcoin has become a dominant crypto exchange presence within Latin America, placing a strong emphasis on fostering financial inclusion within Brazil by crafting strategic partnerships with high-caliber blockchain initiatives.

On Oct. 3, the exchange took a significant leap forward by partnering with the famed blockchain firm Ripple, making Mercado Bitcoin the initial adopter of Ripple Payments. This solution promises to revolutionize cross-border transactions for its users, offering speed, reduced costs, optimized liquidity in real-time, and a bolstered security framework. Moreover, the integration accommodates on-the-spot payments in Brazilian Reais, thereby simplifying monetary exchanges and meeting the demands of corporate professionals and private consumers alike while facilitating seamless treasury operations between Brazil and Portugal.

In addition to this, the exchange was among the first few to list RLUSD, a stablecoin tethered to the US dollar created by Ripple, which launched on their platform on Dec. 17.

Moving ahead, Mercado Bitcoin has also engaged in significant collaborations with established financial players like Mastercard. The exchange reached a pivotal junction in May 2024 when it partnered with Mastercard to initiate peer-to-peer pilot transactions and further enable transactional capabilities throughout Latin American and European sectors.