Summary
Tether invested $20M in Mercado Bitcoin as a strategic growth financing round. Mercado Bitcoin has 4.5M users, has issued 2B Brazilian reais ($387M) in tokenized assets, and holds 10+ licenses across Brazil and Europe including a payment institution license from Brazil's central bank. Founded in 2013, Mercado Bitcoin has evolved from a crypto exchange into a full-stack onchain financial platform offering trading, tokenized investment products, credit and lending, stablecoin-powered payments, banking infrastructure, and cross-border services. The capital will go toward expanding payments infrastructure, scaling tokenized investment products, growing lending capabilities, advancing on-chain capital markets, and pursuing international expansion. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino confirmed the investment. Tether reported ~$1.04B net profit in Q1 2026.
Key Points
- $20M strategic growth financing from Tether
- Mercado Bitcoin: 4.5M users, founded 2013
- 2B reais ($387M) in tokenized assets issued
- 10+ licenses across Brazil and Europe
- Payment institution license from Brazil Central Bank
- Products: trading, tokenized assets, credit, stablecoin payments, cross-border services
- Capital use: payments infrastructure, tokenized products, lending, capital markets, international expansion
- Tether Q1 2026 net profit: ~$1.04B
- Tether USDT market cap: ~$184B
- Tether also invested in LemFi, Stablecoin Development Corporation, and Georgia lari stablecoin project