The native token of the Layer-1 Injective blockchain, INJ, has been incorporated by Mercado Bitcoin, the biggest cryptocurrency exchange in Brazil.
A Dec. 23 X post from Injective states that the oldest Latin American exchange has now formally integrated INJ, the native utility and governance token of the Layer-1 Injective blockchain.
Through its fiat to crypto on-ramp, the move will enable more than 3 million Mercado Bitcoin users to directly access the injective ecosystem using fiat currencies like Brazilian real estate.
According to Defillama, users would thus have the opportunity to interact with Injective’s decentralized finance ecosystem, which at the moment has approximately $43 million in total value locked.
The price of INJ increased by about 15.6% after the development, from a 24-hour low of $20.52 to $23.72 in early trade on December 24.
Since its founding in 2013, Mercado Bitcoin has expanded to become one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in Latin America.
Through innovative partnerships with top blockchain initiatives, the company has been actively working to increase financial accessibility in Brazil.
The platform announced a partnership with the blockchain payments company Ripple on October 3, becoming the first company to integrate Ripple Payments.
Businesses and customers benefit from this end-to-end solution’s improved security, real-time liquidity optimization, and quicker, less expensive cross-border transactions.
The connection streamlines treasury procedures for the exchange between Brazil and Portugal and facilitates direct payments in Brazilian Reais for both corporate and retail clients.
On December 17, Mercado Bitcoin was among the first exchanges to list Ripple USD, the company’s dollar-pegged stablecoin.
The exchange has also established noteworthy alliances with major international payment companies like Mastercard.
To enhance live transaction capabilities across Latin American and European corridors, the exchange partnered with Mastercard in May 2024.
