In late 2022, two of Latin America's top companies, Mercado Libre and Nubank, launched their own cryptocurrencies. Mercado Libre introduced Melicoin and Nubank rolled out Nucoin. The reason is that these crypto assets have the potential to open up new ways to monetize customer engagement, especially through loyalty programs and cashback incentives.
Such a move required a large customer base and strong brands, which both companies got: Nubank went from having 70 million customers in Brazil alone to now having 95.5 million, more than the population of Germany.
But this week, almost two years after the announcement of Nucoin and a year and a half after its official release, Nubank suddenly declared the end of the token. For experts in the field, there are many more factors that explain the demise of the idea than what was claimed in the company's official statement.
“From today [Tuesday]”Nucoins will no longer be tradeable and can only be used to exchange rewards within the Nubank product ecosystem. New types of rewards will be incorporated by the end of the year to ensure that the program, which already has more than 16 million users in Brazil, offers the best possible results,” the company said.
Customers who have at least BRL 100 worth of Nucoins (USD 17.85) within the next 90 days…
