Brazil’s Largest Crypto Exchange Mercado Bitcoin to Issue 2 Renewable Energy Tokens: Report

Mercado Bitcoin, Brazil’s largest crypto exchange, reached an agreement with Brazilian energy trader Comerc to release two renewable energy tokens, Reuters reported Wednesday.

• The first token will work as a cashback for Comerc customers who generate renewable energy through its distributed generation system, Sou Vagalume. The company plans to allow the purchase of the token for a fixed amount and later offer the digital asset for trading in a secondary market.

• Brazil’s current system of distributed solar generation grants incentives for investors. Through this setup, users of Sou Vagalume obtain discounts equivalent to between 15% and 20% of their total bills.

• Comerc currently has 5,000 customers using its distributed generation system, although it expects to reach 150,000 customers by the end of 2020.

• Roberto Dagnoni, CEO of 2TM Group, the holding company for Mercado Bitcoin, said that if a customer has a monthly expenditure of 1000 Brazilian reais, he would receive 150 Brazilian reais converted into tokens per month.

• According to Dagnoni, both companies are finalizing legal and regulatory details; the product, he added, should be ready in December or January 2022.

• Bitcoin Market and Comerc plan to launch a second token, backed by the International REC Standard, a certificate that documents electricity consumption from renewable energy sources. It is still in preliminary stages, Reuters reported.

• In June, Mercado Bitcoin raised $200 million in a Series B round from the SoftBank Latin America Fund. The funding was the largest B round ever in Latin America and SoftBank’s largest investment in a Latin American crypto company.