Tether Leads R$100M Funding Round in Mercado Bitcoin Parent
Stablecoin giant Tether invests R$100 million in 2TM, the parent of Mercado Bitcoin, to scale Latin American tokenization, payments, and credit.
Tether, the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin (USDT), has injected R$100 million ($20 million) into 2TM, the parent company of Mercado Bitcoin, marking the first closing of its Series C funding round. The strategic investment signals massive institutional backing for Latin American tokenization, on-chain payments, and crypto-backed credit infrastructure. SoftBank, which previously led 2TM’s $200 million Series B round in 2021, is also participating in the ongoing financing.
The newly secured capital will be deployed to scale Mercado Bitcoin's on-chain payment infrastructure, expand tokenized investment products for both retail and institutional clients, and accelerate its crypto-backed credit operations. Founded in 2013, Mercado Bitcoin has evolved from a digital asset exchange into a full-stack financial services platform, serving over 4.5 million users and issuing more than R$2 billion in tokenized assets. The company operates under more than 10 regulatory licenses across Brazil and Europe, including a Payment Institution license from the Central Bank of Brazil.
This institutional backing comes amid robust regional activity in the digital asset space. As of today, Bitcoin is trading at BTC/BRL 319,933, while Ethereum is priced at ETH/BRL 8,955.91. Tether’s capital injection highlights the growing demand for regulated, blockchain-based financial infrastructure in emerging markets, positioning Brazil as a central hub for real-world asset (RWA) tokenization and stablecoin-powered payment systems in Latin America.