Leading cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase, seems to be in discussion to acquire – 2TM, a Brazilian holding that controls Latin America’s largest crypto brokerage, Mercado Bitcoin.
According to Brazilian newspaper, Estadão, Coinbase Global (COIN), is all prepped up to acquire the Brazilian unicorn – 2TM Group, holding company for MercadoBitcoin.com by the end of April 2022. The talks, which began last year, are a part of Coinbase’s push to broaden operations in the international market.
How Will The Acquisition Help?
The acquisition could support Coinbase in becoming the market leader in the crypto space in Latin America. The 2TM Group was valued at roughly US$2.2 billion in the latest Series B funding round led by Japan’s SoftBank Group. This move could also benefit 2TM, to speed up growth in Latin America, expanding into Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Argentina. However, Coinbase and 2TM have not yet disclosed any details on the matter.
Roberto Dagnoni, CEO, highlights 2TM’s drive to accelerate international expansion in Latin America, having Mexico, Argentina, Chile and Colombia as main priorities. He remarked,
“We have grown to more than 3.2 million customers today, which is equivalent to 80% of individual accounts at the Brazilian Stock exchange. This growth reinforces Brazilians’ appetite for digital assets and the great transformation that is hitting the traditional financial market”
This comes on heels after 2TM announced the acquisition of a controlling stake in CriptoLoja, the first licensed Lisbon-based crypto exchange, in January 2022. In 2021, CriptoLoja received Portugal’s first official license as a “virtual asset service provider” from Banco de Portugal, the nation’s central bank. With this acquisition, the Brazilian firm expanded into the European Union which it views as a highly beneficial operating space. Dagnoni explained,
“We will access the European market using the clear synergies with our presence in Latin America, as we share the same language, a recognized brand, and cross-sell opportunities for customers. There are many Brazilians living in Portugal who would love to invest through our platform,”
Crypto Powering-up In Latin America
Apart from, MercadoBitcoin, 2TM, owns a number of other entities such as Meubank, a multi-asset wallet and account service currently waiting for a Brazilian Central Bank license; Bitrust, a qualified digital custodian and Clearbook, an equity crowdfunding platform, among others.
Amid a Brazilian crypto adoption boom that tripled stablecoin trading in 2021 over the previous year, global exchanges such as Coinbase, Binance and Crypto.com turned their attention to the Latin American country. Last year, Coinbase announced the creation of an engineering hub in Brazil and opened different positions to expand its team there.
