Markets
Key Facts
—The deal. Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin issuer, has invested R$100m ($20m) in Mercado Bitcoin, Latin America’s biggest digital-asset platform.
—The round. The sum is the first close of a larger Series C that also includes the platform’s founders and Japan’s SoftBank.
—The use. Funds will go to payments infrastructure, tokenized investments, crypto-backed lending and on-chain capital markets.
—The scale. Mercado Bitcoin serves about 4.5 million users and has handled more than R$155bn ($30.7bn) in transactions since 2013.
—The backdrop. Brazil is the largest crypto market in Latin America, with dollar stablecoins widely used as an inflation hedge.
Tether, the company behind the world’s most-used dollar stablecoin, has put money into Mercado Bitcoin. The move backs Latin America’s largest crypto platform as it pushes deeper into tokenized finance. The hundred-million-real cheque, worth about twenty million dollars, is a bet that Brazil will be where blockchain-based finance goes mainstream first.
The investment is the first close of a wider Series C funding round for 2TM, the holding company that owns Mercado Bitcoin, the platform confirmed. That round also draws in the platform’s founders and Japan’s SoftBank, an investor since the firm became a unicorn in 2021.
The total size of the round has not been disclosed. What is clear is where the first tranche will go, and it is not into simply letting people buy and sell coins.
What the Mercado Bitcoin money will build
The platform plans to spend the capital on payments infrastructure tied to crypto, on stronger lending and credit, and on building out on-chain capital markets. The company also flagged international expansion, with acquisitions elsewhere in the region on the table.
Tokenization sits at the centre of the plan. That means turning traditional assets, such as credit instruments, into digital tokens on a blockchain, which the firm hopes to offer to both retail and big investors.
For Tether, the logic is about reach. Its dollar-pegged token is already widely used in Brazil for foreign-exchange and payment operations, and a stake in the market’s biggest platform deepens that footprint.
Why Brazil, and why now
Brazil is the largest crypto market in Latin America, drawing roughly a third of the region’s activity by some measures. A big, young population, a lively fintech scene and steady demand for dollar-linked tokens as an inflation hedge all feed that lead.
Regulation is part of the appeal rather than an obstacle. Analysts point to Brazil as a model, with the central bank having issued rules for the sector since 2025. It is still working out how to apply the new framework in full.
The platform leaned on that regulated base to win the cheque. It holds around ten licences across Brazil and Europe, operating formally as a payment institution, a brokerage, a securitization firm and an asset manager.
The dollar token’s grip on the local market helps explain the interest. Since 2021 the most-used cryptocurrency in Brazil has been Tether’s USDT, which accounts for roughly two-thirds of the operations declared to the tax authority.
Competition is sharpening, though. Circle, Tether’s main rival, has been gaining ground in Brazil, with its own adoption rate climbing past one in ten users over the past year.
The company is also using the moment to widen its lending arm. It has extended its crypto-collateralized credit product from a narrow adviser channel to its whole client base, aiming to multiply the amount it lends by year-end.
A stock-market debut remains a longer-term option. Management has repeatedly delayed a listing in Brazil since 2021 but keeps the plan alive, and a friendlier climate abroad could open the door to raising money elsewhere.
Who is behind this Mercado Bitcoin deal?
The lead investor is Tether, the issuer of USDT, the dollar-backed token that dominates stablecoin trading worldwide. It is joined in the wider round by Mercado Bitcoin‘s own founders and by SoftBank, the Japanese fund that first backed the platform four years ago.
What does it mean for users in Brazil?
In time it could mean more liquid token markets and smoother crypto-linked payments and cards used almost invisibly in everyday shopping. For now the change is structural, aimed at the plumbing of finance rather than any single new product.
Does this signal a threat to traditional banks?
It points that way. When the biggest issuer of digital dollars teams up with the region’s largest asset platform, the aim is to let money move without passing through the slower, costlier clearing of the old banking system.
Live Market IntelligenceCrypto — Live Market Board
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Crypto — Live Market Board
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| Instrument | Last | Change | YoY | Prev. | High | Low | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BTC | 63,384 | -0.26% | -47.24% | 63,552 | 64,346 | 63,305 | 22,774,743,040 |
| ETH | 1,886 | +0.26% | -58.90% | 1,881 | 1,920 | 1,879 | 7,916,475,392 |
| SOL | 75.89 | -0.40% | -60.44% | 76.20 | 76.99 | 75.39 | 1,473,821,056 |
| XRP | 1.01 | -1.15% | -69.07% | 1.02 | 1.02 | 1.01 | 1,144,044,416 |
| BNB | 609.60 | -1.12% | -26.81% | 616.50 | 619.30 | 609.23 | 1,266,706,432 |
| ADA | 0.18 | -1.98% | -78.22% | 0.19 | 0.19 | 0.18 | 238,085,632 |
| DOGE | 0.07 | -1.56% | -70.00% | 0.07 | 0.07 | 0.07 | 553,256,192 |
| AVAX | 6.38 | +1.04% | -74.11% | 6.32 | 6.42 | 6.21 | 248,470,560 |
| LINK | 8.77 | -0.06% | -62.73% | 8.77 | 8.87 | 8.68 | 317,054,880 |
| DOT | 0.78 | -0.75% | -81.11% | 0.79 | 0.80 | 0.78 | 43,490,492 |
| LTC | 45.08 | -0.85% | -65.45% | 45.47 | 45.59 | 44.98 | 143,727,712 |
| BCH | 213.85 | +0.10% | -65.44% | 213.64 | 215.69 | 212.54 | 137,956,688 |
| TRX | 0.34 | +0.28% | -4.73% | 0.33 | 0.34 | 0.33 | 436,576,064 |
| XLM | 0.16 | -1.33% | -64.46% | 0.16 | 0.16 | 0.16 | 89,559,864 |
| HBAR | 0.07 | -0.53% | -74.67% | 0.07 | 0.07 | 0.07 | 22,546,186 |
| NEAR | 1.65 | +2.42% | -40.55% | 1.62 | 1.68 | 1.61 | 187,591,264 |
| ATOM | 1.40 | -2.36% | -70.15% | 1.44 | 1.44 | 1.40 | 18,626,964 |
| AAVE | 89.06 | +0.93% | -72.33% | 88.24 | 90.20 | 88.19 | 129,099,704 |
Frequently Asked Questions
How much did Tether invest in Mercado Bitcoin, and what will the money be used for?
Tether invested R$100 million (about $20 million) in Mercado Bitcoin. The funds will go toward payments infrastructure, tokenized investments, crypto-backed lending, and on-chain capital markets.
How big is Mercado Bitcoin, and who else is involved in this funding round?
Mercado Bitcoin serves about 4.5 million users and has processed more than R$155 billion ($30.7 billion) in transactions since 2013. Besides Tether, the round also includes the platform's own founders and Japan's SoftBank, which has backed the company since it became a unicorn in 2021.
Why is Brazil such an attractive market for this kind of crypto investment?
Brazil is the largest crypto market in Latin America. Demand for dollar-linked tokens like Tether's USDT as an inflation hedge is strong, and USDT alone accounts for roughly two-thirds of crypto operations declared to the tax authority. The country also has a regulated framework, with the central bank issuing rules since 2025, making it a more stable place for crypto businesses.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error
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