Nubank and Mercado Pago Hit Pause on Crypto Transfers

Two heavyweights of Latin American finance just froze crypto transfers at the same time. Nubank and Mercado Pago have both temporarily suspended the service, according to Cointelegraph. The move hits customers across one of the world's most active crypto markets.

Nubank is blaming someone else. The Brazilian digital bank says an outside provider is behind the pause, and it's telling users their assets are safe. That's the reassuring line — though the transfers themselves stay switched off for now.

Mercado Pago, the fintech arm of e-commerce giant MercadoLibre, hasn't offered a public reason in the report. The two companies going quiet on the same function at the same moment is the kind of coincidence that gets noticed fast in crypto.

The detail that's missing matters: there's no word yet on when transfers come back, or what exactly the provider issue was. Until then, users on both platforms are stuck watching their balances without the ability to move them out.

For two apps that millions of Latin Americans treat as their everyday money, a crypto transfer freeze is a trust test. Nubank's 'your assets are safe' line is the opening bid — whether customers buy it depends on how quickly the pause lifts.