Bullish Brazilian Bank Nubank Adds Five More Altcoins to Banking App

Last updated: November 21, 2023 22:52 EST
. 1 min read

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Source: Diego/Adobe

The Brazilian neobanking unicorn Nubank is stepping up its crypto adoption drive, adding trading capabilities for five more altcoins to its banking app.

Per the Brazilian media outlet Livecoins, the bank added support for Polkadot (DOT), Avalanche (AVAX), Stella Lumens (XLM), Arbitrum (ARB), and Optimism (OP) on November 22.

The bank launched crypto trading functions on its banking app in May 2022, offering its bank customers access to Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).

A graph showing Polkadot (DOT) prices over the past week. — Polkadot (DOT) prices over the past week. (Source: CoinMarketCap)

It has since expanded its range of crypto offerings and earlier this year added Polygon (MATIC) and Uniswap (UNI) trading functions.

Nubank has become one of the nation’s most prominent crypto bulls, last year announcing its intention to buy Bitcoin (BTC) using its balance sheet.

The company said it wanted to convert 1% of its available funds to Bitcoin via its holding company.

Prominent Nubank backers include Warren Buffet, whose investment vehicle bought a $500 million stake in 2021.

The bank launched an initial public offering in 2021, with a valuation of over $45 billion.

It has since launched its own cryptoasset, Nucoin, which it also trades on its app, as well as a crypto-specific division named Nubank Cripto.

Nubank: Brazilian Bank Remaining Bullish on Crypto

Nubank Cripto said that the altcoins had been added partly due to “feedback from users,” and added:

“Diversification is seen as essential for people who are deeply interested in this form of technology.”

The bank is attempting to drive up interest in its new altcoin additions by offering promotional commission rates of 0.9% for the next four weeks.

Some of Nubank’s other major backers include Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global Management, and Goldman Sachs.

Nubank is also working with the Brazilian central bank on the latter’s digital real CBDC pilot project, along with a number of smaller domestic crypto players.

Other notable domestic conventional financial services providers, such as Itaú, have also begun developing crypto interests in recent years.