Brazil, July 1, 2021 /AlexaBlockchain/ – Brazilian cryptocurrency exchange Mercado Bitcoin has secured $200 million from SoftBank.
What happened? SoftBank Latin America fund has invested $200 million at a valuation of $2.1 billion in the Series B funding round of 2TM Group, the parent company of Mercado Bitcoin.
The crypto exchange currently has a client base of 2.8 million – more than 70% of the entire individual investors base on Brazil’s stock exchange. It processed $5 billion in trading transactions in the first five months of 2021. The crypto exchange secured a Series A in January led by GP Investimentos and Parallax Ventures.
Mercado Bitcoin will use the funds to increase its scale, expand its offerings and invest in infrastructure to meet the soaring demand for crypto in the region.
Mercado Bitcoin will use the fund to grow its team to 700 by the end of 2021. Apart from expanding the team size, 2TM has planned to accelerate growth across 2TM Group’s portfolio, which will also include digital wallet provider MeuBank, subject to regulatory approvals. In 2021, 2TM Group will also launch Bitrust, the first digital custodian in Latin America, subject to regulatory approval.
SoftBank believes 2TM is “a defining player in the cryptocurrency explosion in Brazil,” said Marcelo Claure, CEO of SoftBank Group International and COO of SoftBank Group. “Cryptocurrencies have incredible potential in Latin America. We believe winning in Brazil is critical for 2TM Group.”
This is Softbank’s first big investment in blockchain and crypto sector. In May, SoftBank participated in the $26 million funding for Brazilian crypto asset manager Hashdex, but it did not lead the round.
SoftBank subsidiary LINE Plus Corporation recently signed an MoU with NuriFlex Inc to collaborate in the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) platform business in various regions, including but not limited to the Caribbean, South America and Africa.