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Coinbase Global (COIN) is in talks to buy 2TM, the owner of Mercado Bitcoin, Brazil’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, according to the Estado newspaper on Sunday.
Focus on Brazil
According to the firm, Mercado Bitcoin had 3.2 million customers in the year 2021, up from 1.1 million the previous year, and its trading volume raised to $7.1 billion.
Valuing of the firm went up to $2.1 billion as 2TM raised $200 million in a Series B fundraising round held in June, followed by another $50 million in November.
Global exchanges including Binance, Coinbase, and Crypto.com turned their focus to Brazil during a crypto adoption boom that tripled stablecoin trading in 2021 over the previous year.
Negotiations between Coinbase and 2TM have been ongoing since last year, according to the article, which did not reference sources, and a deal might be revealed in late April.
Global reach
Coinbase announced the development of an engineering hub in Brazil in November 2020, as well as the opening of other opportunities to expand its workforce there.
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao indicated during a visit to Sao Paulo on March 16 that the business plans to acquire banks and payment processors in Brazil. In the same month, the company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to purchase Brazilian securities brokerage Sim; paul Investimentos.
According to 2TM CEO Roberto Dagnoni, the company plans to develop in Latin America through acquisitions in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico. In January, the business purchased CriptoLoja, Portugal’s first authorized crypto exchange.
In addition to Mercado Bitcoin, 2TM is the parent company of Meubank, MB Digital Assets, Bitrust, Blockchain Academy, and MezaPro.
Coinbase reportedly selected Mexican crypto exchange Bitso as a target for purchase, according to Estado, but no agreement was finalized, the newspaper reported.
Coinbase and Mercado Bitcoin did not react to CoinDesk’s concerns right away.
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Andrew is a blockchain developer who developed his interest in cryptocurrencies while pursuing his post-graduation major in blockchain development. He is a keen observer of details and shares his passion for writing, along with coding. His backend knowledge about blockchain helps him give a unique perspective to his writing skills, and a reliable craft at explaining the concepts such as blockchain programming, languages and token minting. He also frequently shares technical details and performance indicators of ICOs and IDOs.
