Tether puts $20 million behind Mercado Bitcoin amid Latin America's tokenization boom

Quick Take

• Mercado Bitcoin has grown from an early crypto exchange into a regulated digital financial services platform.
• Tethers funding will support payments, lending, tokenized investments, and international expansion.

Tether is investing $20 million in Brazilian crypto platform Mercado Bitcoin as part of a strategic financing round meant to help accelerate onchain financial infrastructure across Latin America.

The investment will support Mercado Bitcoin as it expands into tokenization, payments, lending, and capital markets, according to a Tuesday announcement.

Mercado Bitcoin has been a long-time player in the crypto ecosystem. It was founded in 2013 and primarily operated as a crypto exchange. Now it has expanded into a digital financial services platform that offers tokenized investment products, stablecoin payments, credit, and cross-border banking infrastructure.

The company said it serves 4.5 million users, has issued more than $370 million in tokenized assets and holds more than ten regulatory licenses across Brazil and Europe.

Mercado Bitcoin said it will use the new capital to expand its payments infrastructure, add more tokenized offerings, develop its lending and credit businesses and support its onchain capital markets push.

The deal marks Tether's latest push into Brazil, which it says is one of the most active digital asset markets in the world. Last month, Tether-backed payments app Oobit integrated Brazil's PIX instant payment network, allowing users to deposit reais, hold funds in Tether's USDT stablecoin and spend through PIX, which serves roughly 170 million users.

“Tether's mission is to build open, accessible, and efficient financial infrastructure for the world,” CEO Paolo Ardoino said in a statement

Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.

© 2026 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.