U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global Inc is inching closer to a major acquisition deal of 2TM, owner of Latin America’s largest crypto brokerage Mercado Bitcoin. As per a report by a local newspaper O Estado de S.Paulo, the agreement would be finalized by the end of April. However, the news outlet did not disclose the source of the information, adding to its mystery.
The report also mentioned that Coinbase was pitching the idea with Mercado Bitcoin beginning in 2021, as part of its larger effort to expand its operations in the increasingly competitive market. As of now, Coinbase and 2TM made no comment on the development.
Last year in July, Mercado Bitcoin, a Latin American digital assets exchange, has raised $200 million in Series B funding from the SoftBank Latin America Fund. The round enhanced its parent firm 2TM Group’s valuation to $2.1 billion, ranking it among the top 10 unicorns in Latin America.
The report further noted that the Brazilian crypto unicorn would help Coinbase gain the necessary leverage required to secure a market leader position in Latin America. Besides Mercado, Coinbase was also eyeing Mexican crypto exchange Bitso as an acquisition target, but apparently, no deal was reached, the newspaper said.
In November 2020, Coinbase announced the creation of an engineering hub in Brazil and opened different positions to expand its team there. Brazil and the other Latin American nations with their large online population, a growing pool of talented developers, and the desire to improve their situation provide a fertile ground for crypto and web3 to take root.
It is not surprising why many crypto bigwigs are making a beeline in the region. In fact, Coinbase’s major rival Binance is on a hunt for similar acquisitions in Brazil, the newspaper said.
Coinbase’s Competitor Binance too gaining inroads in the Brazilian Landscape
Just a few days ago, Binance CEO, Changpeng Zhao, a.k.a CZ announced that the global crypto exchange will be establishing a base of operations in Brazil’s most populous city, Rio. CZ stated that the move is a direct result of an agreement he reached with the city’s mayor during his visit nine days ago where he was also offered a key to the city.
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