Coinbase launches a trading platform allowing users to convert crypto into Mexican pesos

Leading cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase has announced that it has launched a trading program that allows crypto recipients in Mexico to cash out their funds in pesos. Coinbase wants to shake up the $700 billion global remittance market where immigrants from around the globe are sending money from the US to their home countries.

For Mexicans, the low transaction fees for sending and cashing out cryptocurrency offer flexibility in how to receive and store funds. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are regarded as an important way for people to send funds to friends and family abroad due to the borderless nature of cryptocurrency and fewer intermediaries than traditional currency transfers.

The challenge

In 2020, immigrants from around the world sent approximately $700 billion from the US to their family and friends back in their home countries, according to the World Bank. However, the existing challenges with today’s traditional cross-border payment offering mean that fees can go up to 7% per transaction, and due to inflation many don’t have the option to save or protect their funds from purchasing power.

How it works

Customers today can already instantly send crypto to recipients in Mexico directly from the Coinbase app. Once those funds are received, the recipient can choose to cash out or save funds in their Coinbase account. If they choose to cash out any part of their balance, they can generate a redemption code from their Coinbase app that can be used to receive cash at 37,000 physical retail outlets and convenience stores located across Mexico.

Coinbase has long presented a way to instantly send crypto to family and friends anywhere in the world for free, and to allow recipients to invest in any of the 100+ cryptocurrencies that we support. Coinbase customers in Mexico will be able to cash out their crypto using this new service free of charge until March 31, 2022. After that date, customers will be charged a nominal fee that’s still much cheaper than traditional cross-border payment solutions. Alongside this latest development, Coinbase became the first crypto exchange to get listed on Nasdaq. Coinbase is on a mission to increase economic freedom globally and over time will consider other regions where people face the same challenges.