On April 28, MercadoLibre (MELI), the largest Latin American online marketplace, launched a real estate section dedicated to cryptocurrencies. Although the company does not settle property transactions directly, it legitimizes the category as a payment system. The $81 billion retailer is the second largest company in South America and is present in 18 countries, including its three largest markets, Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico. The group also owns Mercado Pago, a digital payments system for online and offline transactions, along with Mercado Envios, a logistics platform that provides fulfillment, warehousing, and shipping services. The current offers include houses, condos, vacant lots, …
South Korea's leading virtual currency exchange Bithumb has partnered with Asian e-commerce giant Qoo10 to provide a cryptocurrency payment service, according to an official announcement Nov. 7. Qoo10, the so called “Asian Amazon,” is a leading South Korean e-commerce company in pan-Asian markets such as Singapore, Hong Kong, China, and Indonesia. The press release notes that the partnership will expand the Bithumb cash payment service as a global payment method. The two companies initially signed a contract in August and proceeded to work with the Qoo10 settlement service and Bithumb Cache system. Introduced by Bithumb this spring, Bithumb Cache is …
The use of blockchain to cement ownership rights for real estate and business has been ongoing since 2016, when the technology was first used to organize new forms of registries and registration of transactions. The blocks are used to record information onto the blockchain system, which can then certify the process of transfer of ownership of the property or entity. This process excludes intermediaries that collect commissions in the process of, for example, conducting real estate transactions while also lowering the risk of fraud. Specialized blockchain platforms can prevent data forgery and simplify the process of checking real estate objects …
Sun Hung Kai, one of the largest property developers in Hong Kong, continues betting on the cryptocurrency industry by investing in Swiss crypto outfit Sygnum. Sygnum officially announced Thursday that it closed a $90 million Series B round led by Sun Hung Kai, a real estate giant and alternative investment firm in Hong Kong. According to Sun Hung Kai’s group executive chairman Lee Seng Huang, the company has a strategic vision to expand its fund management offerings into digital assets. “Amidst growing institutional demand and regulatory oversight of this sector, Sygnum, with its track record as a fully-regulated digital asset …
Major e-commerce marketplace eBay could integrate crypto payments soon, said CEO Jamie Iannone in a recent interview. The internet marketplace is among the oldest e-commerce platforms, now looking to become the go-to platform for Gen Z and Millennials. The CEO said in an interview with The Street that the firm is looking to integrate crypto payment options for quite some time and an official announcement could be made during the upcoming investor’s day on March 10. During his interview, Iannone revealed that the e-commerce giant is looking to transition to new payments modes as they are already managing $85 billion …