Tether Expands Its Footprint in Latin America With a $20 Million Investment in Mercado Bitcoin

The stablecoin giant announced that this investment will support Mercado Bitcoin’s expansion efforts in payment infrastructure, tokenized investment offerings, lending and credit, and on-chain capital markets. The move follows several capital injections by the company for several Latam-focused initiatives.

Key Takeaways

• Tether invested $20M in Mercado Bitcoin, accelerating the expansion of Latam on-chain payment infrastructure.
• Mercado Bitcoin will deploy the capital to build tokenized assets, securing a wider footprint across Latam.
• Brazil is advancing stablecoin regulations, providing clear rules that attract global institutional funds.

Tether Announces $20 Million Strategic Investment in Mercado Bitcoin

Latam markets and the companies regulated to serve them are attracting the attention of global companies seeking to establish an institutional foothold in the region.

Tether, the global stablecoin company, disclosed a $20 million investment in Mercado Bitcoin, a Brazilian financial services company, as part of a strategic growth financing round that also included SoftBank.

With these funds, Mercado Bitcoin will bankroll expansion improvements in its payments infrastructure, tokenized investment offerings, and on-chain capital markets, aiming to establish a foothold in other countries in the region.

The company, which has over 4.5 million customers and operates in Brazil and Europe, was qualified by Tether as “one of the most comprehensive regulated on-chain financial platforms in Latin America,” and is part of a series of similar investments in payments and infrastructure companies that Tether is backing in the region.

Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, explained that both companies were striving to build a more “open, accessible and efficient financial infrastructure for the world.”

“Mercado Bitcoin has built exactly that, a regulated, full-stack on-chain financial platform serving millions of users across one of the world’s most dynamic financial markets.. We look forward to supporting Mercado Bitcoin’s next phase of growth as a strategic partner and investor,” he declared.

Tether investment comes as Brazil is in the process of regulating stablecoins to offer companies a clearer set of rules, as institutions are increasingly moving their operations on-chain for efficiency, cost, and speed advantages.

Roberto Dagnoni, Mercado Bitcoin’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, highlighted that this move to bring financial markets online was already in development, and that this investment strengthened their “ability to accelerate the next generation of on-chain financial services in Brazil and across global markets.”

Last year, Tether invested in Parfin, a crypto service company focusing on institutions, and in Orionx. In 2024, Tether also backed mobile payments company Oobit’s expansion into Latam.