Tether backs Mercado Bitcoin with $20M for LatAm expansion
Tether invested $20 million in Mercado Bitcoin to fund payments, tokenized investments, lending and on-chain capital markets across Latin America.
Tether invested $20 million in Brazilian financial services firm Mercado Bitcoin as part of a strategic growth financing round that also included SoftBank. The capital will finance expansion of payments infrastructure, tokenized investment products, lending and credit, and on-chain capital markets across Latin America.
The funding will support development of payment rails for stablecoin and on-chain transactions, creation of tokenized assets for investors, and expansion of lending and credit products that use blockchain infrastructure. Mercado Bitcoin, which serves more than 4.5 million customers and operates in Brazil and Europe, said the funds will accelerate planned product rollouts and regional growth across Latin American markets.
Tether described Mercado Bitcoin as one of the region’s most extensive regulated on-chain financial platforms and positioned the investment as a strategic partnership for infrastructure work in Latin America. Paolo Ardoino, Tether’s CEO, described the companies’ aim as creating an “open, accessible and efficient financial infrastructure for the world” and called Mercado Bitcoin a “regulated, full-stack on-chain financial platform serving millions of users.”
Roberto Dagnoni, Mercado Bitcoin’s chairman and CEO, noted the company was already building financial markets on-chain and said the investment strengthens its ability to accelerate next-generation on-chain financial services in Brazil and other markets. The firm plans to deploy the capital in stages and to integrate tokenized investment offerings and on-chain capital market features while complying with local regulations.
Brazil has advanced on stablecoin regulation, which market participants say provides clearer rules for firms building on-chain services. Tether has previously invested in Latin America-focused companies including Parfin and Orionx and backed mobile payments company Oobit in 2024. Mercado Bitcoin did not disclose ownership stakes or additional terms of the financing round.
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