Brazil Cab-Hailing Major ‘99’ Adds Bitcoin Purchase Option to Its Digital Wallet 99Pay

Bitcoin-buying feature will be active on 99Pay in Brazil in the first week of November.

By Radhika Parashar | Updated: 28 October 2021 14:03 IST

Brazil Cab-Hailing Major ‘99’ Adds Bitcoin Purchase Option to Its Digital Wallet 99Pay

Brazilians have reportedly bought crypto coins worth $4.27 billion (roughly Rs. 31,985 crore) in 2021

Highlights

Brazilian cab-hailing major 99 to power Bitcoin purchase
A new feature is being added to the 99Pay digital wallet
Development adds to crypto-adoption steps picking pace in Brazil

Brazilian cab-hailing major “99” has now enabled the sale and purchase of Bitcoin via its digital wallet app 99Pay. The move announced earlier this week is another step in the direction of increasing Bitcoin adoption and acceptance. Bitcoin, the world's most valued cryptocurrency, was trading at $62,953 (roughly Rs. 47 lakh) on Thursday. Lately, the crypto culture in Brazil seems to be picking pace. Brazilians have reportedly acquired $4.27 billion (roughly Rs. 31,985 crore) in cryptocurrencies so far in 2021.

Users of 99Pay will be able to facilitate commission-free transactions for minimum and maximum Bitcoin purchases ranging from BRL 10 (roughly Rs. 135) to BRL 10,000 (roughly Rs. 1.3 lakh).

The app's 20 million active users will also be getting Bitcoin cashback, as per the company.

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The feature will be functional starting Wednesday, November 3.

Meanwhile, pro-crypto voices have been getting louder in Brazil in recent times.

Earlier this month, the four-year-old daughter of Brazilian crypto exchange founder Joao Canhada earned a mega-profit of over 6,500 percent on her first-ever Bitcoin and stirred the crypto-broth brewing in the nation of roughly over 200 million citizens.

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The government of Brazil is also discussing a bill to regulate crypto-operating companies while figuring out a way to increase penalties for crypto-related illegal activities.

The parent of 99Pay, ride-hailing major 99 was acquired by Chinese cab major DiDi in 2019. So while China has imposed a blanket ban on crypto activities, international subsidiaries of Chinese companies seem to be onboard the crypto-train.

In recent days, other renowned consumer brands have also introduced Bitcoin trading option at their facilities. American retail giant Walmart recently installed 200 Bitcoin ATMs in select store branches located across the country. Walmart visitors will be able to insert banknotes into these ATMs to purchase Bitcoins in the US.

The market valuation of all the cryptocurrencies put together has crossed a milestone of $2.5 trillion (roughly Rs. 1,87,42,625 crore) according to cryptocurrency tracker CoinMarketCap. With the whopping valuation, the global crypto market has surpassed most-valued companies like Apple and Microsoft in terms of market cap.

Interested in cryptocurrency? We discuss all things crypto with WazirX CEO Nischal Shetty and WeekendInvesting founder Alok Jain on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Further reading: Brazil, Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, Bitcoin wallet, 99Pay

Radhika Parashar

Email Radhika

Radhika Parashar is a senior correspondent for Gadgets 360. She has been reporting on tech and telecom for the last three years now and will be focussing on writing about all things crypto. Besides this, she is a major sitcom nerd and often replies in Chandler Bing and Michael Scott references. For tips or queries you could reach out to her at RadhikaP@ndtv.com. More