Brazilian Nubank Partners With Paxos To Provide Crypto Services

Brazilian digital banking giant, Nubank, has formed a partnership with blockchain infrastructure platform Paxos to enable crypto trading services within its banking app.

According to a press release, Nubank said its customers will be able to buy, sell, and hold bitcoin and ether directly via the banking app, with crypto purchases starting from 1 Brazilian real ($0.20). The announcement detailed that Nubank’s new service plans to offer a simple and seamless cryptocurrency experience for its clients.

Nubank Co-Founder and CEO, David Vélez, said:

“There is no doubt that crypto is a growing trend in Latin America, one that we have been following closely and believe will have a transformational impact on the region. Yet the trading experience is still very niche as customers either lack information to feel confident to enter this new market or just get frustrated by complex experiences.”

Nubank currently supports BTC and ETH, but plans to include more crypto assets going forward. There will be a gradual launch of the cryptocurrency trading service starting in May 2022. After that the plan is to expand to the digital bank’s entire customer base of over 50 million by the end of July.

The partnership deal will also see Paxos act as a broker and custody provider.

Charles Cascarilla, the Co-founder and CEO of Paxos, commented

“Nubank’s move to enter the crypto trading space represents a strategic move not only for the company but for an acceleration of the cryptocurrency adoption in the region.”

Nubank’s parent company Nu Holdings bought an undisclosed number of bitcoin equivalent to 1% of its balance sheet, according to the press release. The transaction reinforces the company’s conviction in the current and future potential of Bitcoin in the region’s financial services landscape, it detailed.