Brazil’s Mercado Bitcoin is Latin America’s 1st crypto unicorn after raising US$200 million
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The 2TM Group, which controls cryptocurrency brokerage Mercado Bitcoin, is now worth US$2.1 billion and becomes the industry’s 1st Latin American unicorn.
Mercado Bitcoin, the Brazilian exchange that has become the largest Latin American platform for trading digital assets, has announced it has received a US$200 million investment from Japan’s SoftBank Latin American Fund.
This is the largest investment in a crypto company ever made by the conglomerate. Now, the 2TM Group, which controls the brokerage firm, is valued at US$2.1 billion, thus becoming the first unicorn in the cryptocurrency sector in all of Latin America.
The Brazilian holding company also rose to 8th position in market value among the region’s 20 unicorn startups, which includes big names such as Nubank, Stone, Rappi, Creditas, 99 and iFood.
In a press release, the group disclosed that the new investment will be used to expand its infrastructure in order to meet the growing demand for crypto assets in the region.
In the first 5 months of 2021 alone, Mercado Bitcoin saw the volume traded in digital currencies increase to around US$5 billion, a figure that exceeds the combined data of the past seven years. Moreover, the Brazilian cryptocurrency exchange saw its customer base reach its record high of 2.8 million, equivalent to approximately 70% of all retail investors present on the Brazilian B3 stock exchange.
In 2021 alone, 700,000 new users joined the crypto asset trading platform.
“Millions of people worldwide have realized that digital assets and cryptocurrencies are innovative technologies and efficient reserves of value. Brazil is no exception,” 2TM Group’s CEO Roberto Dagnoni said in the statement.
He added that the new investment round is key to expanding the holding company’s ability to not only meet the demand for digital asset trading, but also the financial market’s demand for solutions based on blockchain technology.
“Having Softbank Latin American Fund on board will be key to realizing this ambition, particularly given its unmatched combination of financial expertise, deep industry experience and broad regional presence,” he said.
Mercado Bitcoin co-founder and 2TM Group board member Gustavo Chamati said that both the exchange and other holding companies have demonstrated a great capacity for innovation.
“We have developed an absolutely scalable market infrastructure and have become the most relevant company in the industry. This privileged position has allowed us to seize and capitalize on the interest in crypto we are witnessing in Brazil and Latin America,” he said.
SoftBank Group International CEO and SoftBank Group COO Marcelo Claure also commented on the million-dollar contribution.
“We were impressed by 2TM Group’s understanding of the Brazilian ecosystem and contribution to the ongoing discussion about the regulatory environment in Brazil. These elements have placed the company not only as a leader in the country, but as a key player in meeting this blockchain revolution across Latin America.”
Source: Tecnoblog
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