One of the world’s largest crypto exchanges may acquire Brazil’s largest crypto exchange and become even bigger. It has been reported that Coinbase is looking to buy out 2TM, a crypto unicorn known for operating the Brazilian crypto exchange Mercado Bitcoin.
According to the local newspaper, O Estado de S.Paulo, the companies have been in talks since last year and are expected to close the deal in April. Meanwhile, the parties in question have yet to reveal any details about the matter.
Mercado Bitcoin has 3.2 million users, expanding its user base by 1.1 million customers just last year, per a report by crypto media outlet CoinDesk. The exchange is also said to reach $7.1 billion worth of trading volume in 2021 alone
2TM, its operator, hit a valuation of $2.2 billion after raising $200 million in a Series B funding round in June and another $50 million in November 2021. The latest funding round saw backing from Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp.
Not only Coinbase, but rival exchange Binance is also turning its head towards the Latin American market as its countries continue to adopt crypto-friendly measures. The world’s largest crypto exchange has recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to acquire Brazilian securities brokerage Sim;paul Investimentos.
A cherry on top, Brazil’s capital Rio De Janeiro recently announced plans to accept Bitcoin (BTC) payments as tax payments for real estate from 2023. Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao publicly supported the cause and said Binance will open a new office in the region.
9 days ago, I made a handshake deal with mayor @eduardopaes. Rio De Janeiro will accept crypto for tax payments, and @Binance will open an office in Rio. He's done his part. We are working on ours. https://t.co/HPJONtBfQ8
— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) March 26, 2022
