Nubank, a leading Latin American financial institution backed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, has expanded its cryptocurrency offerings. The bank announced that it is adding Cardano (ADA), Near Protocol (NEAR), Cosmos (ATOM), and Algorand (ALGO) to its platform, which serves 100 million clients in Brazil. At the time of the announcement, the combined market capitalization of these coins was $34.6 billion.
With the addition of the four new cryptocurrencies, Nubank Crypto now offers 20 different coins. Nubank’s revenue has shown impressive growth, reaching nearly $3 billion at the end of 2024, up from $245 million in the first quarter of 2021, according to Statista. Berkshire Hathaway has significantly invested in Nubank, increasing its ownership stake from 0.1% to 0.4% between 2022 and 2024.
Brazil, the largest economy in Latin America, has seen substantial growth in its cryptocurrency market. The country’s gross domestic product (GDP) was approximately $5.4 trillion in 2024.
Nubank expands crypto offerings
Stablecoins account for 90% of all crypto transactions in Brazil, reflecting significant adoption and usage. In 2024, Brazil led Latin America in crypto trading volume, with $6 billion traded. Lawmakers in the country are considering legislation allowing salary payments in Bitcoin, signaling ongoing regulatory developments in cryptocurrency.
Thomaz Fortes, the executive director of Nubank’s crypto and virtual assets division, stated, “We plan to continue expanding our selection of tokens throughout the year, always with a careful analysis of the options.”
In addition to the new tokens, Nubank has offered a fixed 4% annual return for USDC holders since January. This feature is available to all crypto wallet users with a minimum balance of 10 USDC. However, the bank’s expansion into the crypto market has not been without challenges.
In September 2024, Nubank halted trading of its Nucoin token to protect users from market volatility. This expansion into new crypto offerings is a strategic move for Nubank as it competes in Brazil’s rapidly growing digital asset market and across Latin America.
Image Credits: Photo by Jievani Weerasinghe on Unsplash
