Brazil’s Nubank Remains Bullish on Crypto

The Brazilian neobank Nubank’s decision to list polygon (MATIC) and uniswap (UNI) on its banking app has been met with enthusiasm from the crypto community.

Nubank first began its crypto pivot in mid-2022, when it announced it would buy bitcoin (BTC) using its balance sheet. The company claimed it would invest 1% of its portfolio in bitcoin via its holding company.

The firm also updated its app with functions that allowed its users to hold, buy, and sell bitcoin and ethereum (ETH).

And the MATIC move may have been in the pipelines for some time. In October last year, the company announced that it was working with Polygon on a plan that will see the company launch its own coin – dubbed Nucoin.

The banking company stated that it wants to airdrop its token to customers “in the first half of 2023” – and will use it as part of its loyalty programs.

Speaking to Time on January 15, David Vélez, Nubank’s founder and CEO, stated:

“My biggest push as a leader will be to increase pace and quality of execution across the organization while increasing motivation and engagement.”

This “pace of execution” appears to have accelerated rapidly in the crypto field. The company has gone from a zero base to becoming a significant domestic crypto player in the space of mere months.

More Crypto Adoption to Follow in Brazil as Nubank Eyes Market

While it may take some time to see whether Nubank customers take to this new selection of altcoins, it is perhaps significant that the bank is continuing its adoption drive while many other crypto-only firms are scaling back their operations.

As things stand, major Latin American crypto players such as Mexico’s Bitso and Brazil’s Mercado Bitcoin continue to dominate the regional crypto markets.

14-day trading volumes at Bitso, one of Latin America’s largest crypto exchanges. (Source: CoinGecko)

But Nubank’s backers include the likes of Warren Buffet, whose investment firm bought a $500 million stake in the firm in June 2021. Per The Chainsaw, NuBank is “currently valued at a whopping US$45 billion, making it the second-most valuable virtual bank in the world.”

The bank reportedly has more than 65 million users – and is eyeing more overseas expansion in the near future.

Late last year, the outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro signed a key crypto bill, which originated in the Senate. Among other things, the law effectively legalizes crypto as a form of payment in the country – paving the way for further private-sector adoption.