In addition to buying Bitcoin, Nubank will offer BTC and ETH investment services to its more than 50 million customers.
Nubank, the largest digital bank in Brazil and Latin America, announced that it has partnered with Paxos to allow the bank’s customers to buy, sell and store cryptocurrencies directly through Nubank.
Along with the launch of the new cryptocurrency transaction services, Nubank announced that it will allocate approximately 1% of its equity in Bitcoin (BTC) through the ATM of Nu Holdings, the company that controls the Nubank Group.
“This move reinforces the company’s belief in Bitcoin’s current and future potential to disrupt financial services in the region,” Nubank said, as translated by Cointelegraph.
According to a Nubank statement sent to Cointelegraph, the purchase of Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) can be made from $0.2 (or 1 BRL) and will be available in May. The cryptocurrency investment service will be fully implemented at the end of June.
“There is no doubt that cryptocurrencies are a growing trend in Latin America,” explained Nubank founder and CEO David Vélez. “We have closely followed the market and we believe that there is potential for transformation in the region.”
Nubank also reported that the integration with cryptocurrencies aims to expand and improve access to this growing market, eliminating the complexity and friction for customers to buy, hold and sell digital currencies through the app without the need to open new accounts or transfer money.
The company confirmed plans to expand beyond BTC and ETH offerings in the future, but did not detail which assets will be included.
Through a set of APIs, Paxos will allow Nubank to offer cryptocurrency-enabled services to customers, as Mercado Livre and PayPal also do in partnership with Paxos.
It is said that Nubank has more than 50 million customers in Brazil alone. According to Paxos, its partnership with the digital bank represents an important strategic move as Latin America continues to transform into a cryptocurrency hub.
Brazil is firmly committed to digital money!Nubank and Bitcoin
While this is the first time that Nubank has offered customers the ability to buy BTC and ETH directly, the bank is not new to digital assets. Through Nulinvest, a platform that Nubank acquired in 2020 when it was called Easynvest, the bank already allows clients to buy investment funds with exposure to the digital asset market.
With the acquisition, Nubank also started offering QBTC11, an exchange-traded fund allocated 100% in Bitcoin, managed by QR Asset Management and belonging to the QR Capital group.
Meanwhile, a securities filing earlier this year revealed that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway bought $1 billion worth of Nubank stock in the fourth quarter of 2021. The move is said to have given Oracle of Omaha indirect exposure. to the digital asset market.
Related: Coinbase Will Supposedly Buy $2.2 Billion Brazilian Unicorn Behind Bitcoin Market
Nubank is not the only local financial institution looking to offer cryptocurrency investment services. Another Brazilian bank that will also offer Bitcoin investment services to its clients is BTG Practual. The bank’s president, Roberto Sallouti, recently announced that the bank will launch its own cryptocurrency exchange in about two months.