Tether announced Tuesday its lead role in a $20 million strategic growth financing round for Mercado Bitcoin, marking a significant expansion of the stablecoin issuer’s presence in Latin America’s rapidly evolving blockchain-based financial market.
The investment positions Tether as a strategic partner in Mercado Bitcoin’s next phase of growth, reflecting the largest stablecoin company’s broader strategy of supporting platforms that combine regulatory compliance with market scale. Tether emphasized that this partnership extends its footprint beyond USDT issuance into the infrastructure used by companies and consumers to hold, invest, and transfer digital value.
Mercado Bitcoin, which launched in São Paulo in 2013, has evolved from a cryptocurrency exchange into a comprehensive on-chain financial services platform serving 4.5 million users. The company has issued over 2 billion reais in tokenized assets and maintains more than 10 licenses across Brazil and Europe, including Brazil’s payment institution license and broker-dealer, securitization, and asset management capabilities.
The platform offers trading, tokenized investment products, credit and lending services, stablecoin-based payments, and cross-border solutions. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino highlighted Mercado Bitcoin’s achievement in building a fully licensed, integrated on-chain financial platform serving millions across a dynamic market.
Roberto Dagnoni, chairman and CEO of Mercado Bitcoin, noted that the shift toward blockchain-based finance is accelerating, with emphasis now on scaling infrastructure for tokenization, stablecoins, payments, and capital markets. The investment will support expansion of payments infrastructure, scaled tokenized offerings for retail and institutional investors, growth in lending and credit activities, advancement of on-chain capital markets, and continued international expansion.
This transaction reflects broader industry confidence that tokenization and stablecoins are moving into mainstream finance. Tether’s investment in Mercado Bitcoin aligns with growing demand for regulated platforms in high-growth markets like Brazil, where digital adoption is high and regulatory frameworks are developing.
The deal follows Tether’s active dealmaking period, including a $1.4 billion Series C lead investment in German humanoid robotics firm NEURA Robotics and a memorandum of understanding with Dubai Multi Commodities Centre for blockchain education initiatives.