- The new product is offered in partnership with Paxos for custody and brokerage and will be gradually rolled out to the company’s over 50 million customers in Brazil
- Along with the launch, Nu Holdings, Nubank’s parent company, announced the purchase of Bitcoin equivalent to ~1% of its balance sheet cash
São Paulo, Brazil, May 12, 2022 – Nubank, one of the world’s largest digital banking platforms and leading technology companies, enters the cryptocurrency trading market. Aligned with its strategy to expand its product portfolio to satisfy all of its customers’ needs, the company launched today in Brazil an exclusive in-app crypto trading experience, offering initially Bitcoin and Ethereum trading starting at BRL $ 1.00 (~US $0.20). The new product guarantees a simple and secure experience, as the whole transaction is carried out in the Nubank app. It will be gradually available for customers in Brazil starting in May 2022, reaching the entire customer base by the end of July 2022.
“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. At Nubank, we aim to empower our customers by putting them in control of their money. Therefore, we built an experience that was simple and intuitive enough to broaden access to new segments while being robust and powerful for the more crypto-savvy”, explains David Vélez, CEO and founder at Nubank.
Nubank’s product experience aims to broaden and improve access to this vibrant market, with an experience that is simple and friction-free, enabling customers to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrency all from the same app, with no need to open new accounts or transfer money. In order to expand the possibilities beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum, the most popular cryptocurrencies, Nubank will do frequent curation to add more in the future. Additionally, Nubank will provide educational resources to customers interested in digital currency transactions, to support informed investment decisions. Prior to this launch, Nubank clients could access crypto through ETFs and funds offered by NuInvest – formerly known as Easynvest.
The product is operated in partnership with Paxos, a leading regulated blockchain infrastructure provider that will act as a custody provider and broker. As Paxos infrastructure powers the offering, customer assets are safeguarded by the leading regulated Trust for digital assets globally.
“We are thrilled to partner with Nubank to deliver its over 50 million customers in Brazil a safe and affordable cryptocurrency trading experience. The Company’s reach and impact across the country’s different segments ensures that even more people will be able to dive into crypto than ever before. Nubank’s move to enter the crypto trading space represents a strategic move not only for the company, but for an acceleration of the crypto currency adoption in the region”, explains Charles Cascarilla, Co-Founder & CEO of Paxos.
Nu Holdings purchase of Bitcoin
In addition to this new product launch, Nu Holdings, Nubank’s parent company, announces allocating ~1% of its balance sheet cash to Bitcoin. The transaction reinforces the company’s conviction in the current and future potential of Bitcoin in the region’s financial services landscape.
Currently Latin America is the fastest growing region in cryptocurrency adoption worldwide. Brazil alone accounts for more than a quarter of the $500 billion crypto market in LatAm, making it the leading country in the region, according to research by Chainalysis.
Reinforcing its commitment to the environment and carbon neutrality, Nubank has hired a specialized consultancy firm to support the integration of the new product into the existing process. In 2020, Nubank zeroed all its carbon emissions generated since the company was founded, through projects that capture CO2 from the environment.
About Nubank
Nubank is one of the world’s largest digital banking platforms, serving around 54 million customers across Brazil, Mexico and Colombia. As one of the leading technology companies in the world, Nubank leverages proprietary technologies and innovative business practices to create new financial solutions and experiences for individuals and SMEs that are simple, intuitive, convenient, low-cost, empowering and human. Guided by a mission to fight complexity and empower people, Nubank is fostering the access to financial services across Latin America, connecting profit and purpose to create value for stakeholders and have a positive impact on the communities it serves. For more information, please visit www.nubank.com.br
