NFT Marketplace Tropix raises $2 million in a Seed Funding round led by 2TM Group, the parent company of Mercado Bitcoin.
What is Tropix?
Tropix, is an Non-fungible Token (NFT) marketplace which is led by an experienced team. Its founder Daniel Peres Chor is former Group Director at Multiplan, a Brazilian real-estate company.
Other team members are also highly experienced, including Bernardo Schucman, a data scientist who has been one of the biggest bitcoin miner in Brazil and the U.S. over and one of the creators of Google Meet; Guilherme Nigri, collector and serial investor; Zé Lima, marketing specialist who founded 10 startups, including Boolabs, which was acquired by B2W; Alexandre Icaza, venture builder with over 20 years of experience in private equity.
Tropix currently runs 20 galleries in Brazil, including Zipper, Verve, and Leme, and has 250 launches planned featuring Brazilian artists Toz, Vini Naso, Walter Goldfarb, Gustavo Von Ha, Giselle Beiguelman, Guerreiro do Divino Amor, and Eduardo Kac.
Tropix Seed Funding
The seed funding round was led by 2TM Group, the parent company of Mercado Bitcoin, Latin America’s largest cryptocurrency and digital asset exchange, with the participation of Mago Capital.
This investment comes in two months after the platform made its debut and subsequent establishment in the expanding market – in crypto art – with over 70 pieces by Brazilian artists sold to local and international collectors from countries like the United States, the Netherlands, Mexico, and Hong Kong.
Daniel Peres Chor, Founder of Tropix, said:
“NFTs empower holders with a variety of assets. We are building a tool that will serve as a registry to galleries and even Ecad, aiding in better controlling of their assets and resources. We’re starting with fine art, but this is just the beginning.”
The firm plans to use the fund to enhance Tropix’s work and expand its offering by building better solutions for NFTs. It will also invest to grow its marketing operations and R&D, and expand its portfolio to feature dozens of more galleries by end of the year.
Read Also: Brazil To Become The First BRICS Nation To Adopt Bitcoin As A Legal Tender
2TM Is A Key Player In Latin America Crypto Market
Brazil-based 2TM Group is a key player in Latin America crypto market, managing a range of crypto firms.
Mercado Bitcoin, Latin America’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, is the best of its portfolio. In the first five months of 2021, the exchange processed transactions totaling almost $5 billion in volume.
In July, Mercado Bitcoin secured $200 million from SoftBank. The cryptocurrency exchange secured a Series A in January led by GP Investimentos and Parallax Ventures.
Read Also: G2D investment in Mercado Bitcoin Appreciates 19-Fold in 6 Months
Sister companies include Meubank, a multi-asset wallet and account service currently waiting for a Brazilian Central Bank license, Bitrust, a qualified digital custodian, Clearbook, an equity crowdfunding platform, MBDA, an asset tokenizer, Mezapro, which provides services to institutional investors, and the Blockchain Academy, the group’s educational arm.
Roberto Dagnoni, CEO of the 2TM group, commented:
“When it comes to crypto, it’s still natural that Bitcoin is the first to come to mind, but it’s only a first step into a much broader universe, which includes several categories of cryptocurrencies, utility tokens, and non-fungible tokens, the NFTs. This investment is important to us because it gives 2TM entry into a fast-growing segment and the possibility of offering new digital assets on Mercado Bitcoin.”
NFTs Are Penetrating Fast
NFTs are gaining traction very fast across the globe. According to the DappRadar report, NFT sales hit a new record, totaling $10.7 Billion in sales in Q3 of 2021, up to 8x compared to the previous quarter.
The number of NFT wallets has also increased, from 40K active wallets in the first quarter of 2020 to more than 170K during Q2, 2021.