Nubank and Santander are moving to integrate blockchain into the Brazilian banking system
Editor’s Note: With so much market volatility, stay tuned for daily news! Get caught up in minutes with our quick summary of today’s must-read news and expert opinions. Sign up here!
(Kitco News) – Brazilian fintech bank Nubank has announced the creation of its own token, Nucoin. It will be distributed on the Polygon network and enable the creation of a rewards program for its 70 million Latin American customers.
Nubank plans to send Nucoin to customers in the first half of 2023, with the token “as the basis of its customer loyalty rewards program and will have benefits such as discounts and other benefits,” the announcement said.
According to Fernando Czapski, General Manager of Nucoin, “This project is another step forward in our belief in the transformative potential of blockchain technology and to democratize it even more, going beyond buying, selling and maintaining cryptocurrencies in the Nu app.”
A notable fact about this development is that Nubank is backed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway and Softbank. Buffett is known to refer to BTC as “rat poison squared” and has a history of negative comments about the crypto industry.
Earlier this year, Berkshire Hathaway made headlines when it sold $3.1 billion worth of Visa and Mastercard shares while simultaneously buying $1 billion worth of Nubank shares.
Nubank is one of the world’s largest digital banking platforms, with customers spread across Brazil, Mexico and Colombia. Since launching its crypto trading platform in late June, more than 1.8 million users have signed up to use the service.
“Nubank’s customer loyalty rewards program, powered by Polygon, will deliver the transformative benefits of blockchain technology to its customers while recognizing the shift occurring in the traditional financial space,” said Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon.
Following the announcement by Nubank, the price of Polygon’s MATIC token has increased by 14.7% from a low of $0.776 on October 21st to today’s value of $0.89.
Santander begins testing blockchain-based tokenization
In other banking news from Brazil, a local branch of major global bank Santander has launched testing of a blockchain-based tokenization platform for transferring ownership of used cars and real estate in the South American country.
The new platform is designed to automate the process of transferring property registration by implementing smart contracts based on a settlement method known as delivery versus payment, which guarantees the transfer of ownership after successful payment.
Santander collaborated with the digital custody and Web3 infrastructure provider Parfin to develop the new offer.
Alex Buelau, Parfin’s co-founder and chief technology officer, indicated that the platform will be a permissioned blockchain network developed from the Ethereum blockchain, meaning it will function similarly to Ethereum but will not be publicly available.
The new project is part of the Central Bank of Brazil’s Financial Innovations Laboratory (Lift), which includes a set of initiatives intended to facilitate the creation of a digital real, Brazil’s digital central bank currency. The digital reality is planned to be launched in 2024.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect the views of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is for informational purposes only. It is not an invitation to exchange goods, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept responsibility for any loss and/or damage arising from the use of this publication.
