Japan’s SoftBank Invests $200 Million In Crypto Exchange Brazil
- ByStartupStory | July 2, 2021
Japan’s SoftBank invests $200 million in crypto exchange Brazil – Mercado Bitcoin, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in Latin America, said Roberto Dagnoni, executive chairman and chief executive officer of 2TM Group, the trading platform’s parent company. Mercado Bitcoin, which launched in 2013, has grown significantly over the past year, with its client base reaching 2.8 million in 2021, more than 70% of the entire individual investor base in Brazil’s stock exchange, 2TM said. Between January and May 2021, approximately 700,000 new customers signed up to use Mercado Bitcoin’s services, the company said. The investment, raised in a Series B funding round, was made through SoftBank Latin America Fund and represents the Japanese multinational company’s largest investment in a Latin American crypto company. As a result of the investment, 2TM said its valuation reached $2.1 billion.
The investor sentiment on cryptocurrencies has soured amid regulatory crackdowns in China, Britain and Japan, so SoftBank’s investment comes as a boon for crypto investors. That has led to outflows from crypto investment products and funds the last few weeks. The current slump in cryptocurrencies, however, failed to demotivate Dagoni, who said . “We are strong believers in the fundamentals of crypto.” Mercado Bitcoin will use the funds to scale its operations, expand offerings, and invest in infrastructure to meet rising demand for crypto in the region, 2TM said in a recent statement. “The platform is quite integrated. So custody is very important in releasing the power of the institutional market,” Dagnoni said in the interview. “We’re also looking at regional expansions in Latam and expansions via M&A (mergers and acquisitions) as well,” he added.
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