Tether (CRYPTO: $USDT) is investing $20 million in Mercado Bitcoin, backing one of Latin America’s largest regulated crypto platforms as tokenization, stablecoin payments and onchain financial services gain ground across the region.
The investment is part of a strategic growth financing round for Mercado Bitcoin, which has expanded from a digital asset exchange into a broader financial services platform spanning tokenized investments, credit, payments, banking infrastructure and cross-border services.
Mercado Bitcoin serves 4.5 million users and has issued more than R$2 billion in tokenized assets. The company also operates through more than 10 licenses across Brazil and Europe, including a Payment Institution license from Brazil’s central bank, broker-dealer capabilities, a securitization platform and asset management operations.
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Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said Mercado Bitcoin has built a regulated, full-stack onchain financial platform with licensing and tokenization infrastructure that stands out in Latin America.
The new capital will support payments infrastructure, tokenized investment products for retail and institutional clients, lending and credit services, onchain capital markets and further international expansion.
Mercado Bitcoin Chairman and CEO Roberto Dagnoni said finance is already moving onchain, with the focus now shifting toward the infrastructure needed to support tokenization, stablecoins, payments and capital markets at scale.
The investment adds to Tether’s growing list of strategic bets outside its core stablecoin business. The company has increasingly deployed capital into businesses tied to payments, tokenization, data, energy and other infrastructure where digital assets can be integrated into wider financial or technology systems.
Brazil is emerging as a key market for that expansion, where strong digital adoption and a developing regulatory framework are creating new openings for blockchain-based products within regulated financial services.
Tether’s backing gives Mercado Bitcoin fresh capital to expand that model beyond exchange trading and deeper into the financial rails supporting onchain markets across Latin America.