Coinbase intends to continue its global acquisition strategy, reportedly acquiring Brazilian company 2TM, the parent company of Mercado Bitcoin.
The Coinbase acquisition could be completed by next month, according to information from Estadão, the third largest newspaper read by Brazil’s 212 million people. Purchase negotiations are underway during 2022.
Mercado Bitcoin is the largest cryptocurrency brokerage in Latin America, whose parent company 2TM has cemented its unicorn status as a billion dollar company in 2021. 2TM, valued at $2.2 billion, is also pursuing an acquisition strategy, especially in Portuguese-speaking countries. In January, 2TM’s Mercado Bitcoin acquired Lisbon-based Portuguese cryptocurrency exchange CriptoLoja.
The 2TM holding company umbrella now covers Meubank, MB Digital Assets, CriptoLoja, Bitrust, Blockchain Academy, MezaPro, Wuzu, and Portal do Bitcoin.
For Coinbase, the announcement of a planned 2TM acquisition demonstrates that their global acquisition strategy is snowballing. After acquiring an Indian AI start-up to improve customer service as there were too many angry customer reviews, the San Francisco-based exchange also recently acquired blockchain infrastructure platform Bison Trails.
In the latest Coinbase Institutional Investor Report from Coinbase on Latin America “Cryptocurrency in Latin America”, Brazil is mentioned 31 times, while Mexico (with a large GDP but a lot of interest in cryptocurrencies) is mentioned only 17 times.
The report states that in Brazil:
“Direct cryptocurrency trading is growing rapidly. On local cryptocurrency exchange Mercado Bitcoin, transaction volume increased sevenfold year-over-year through August.”
The cornerstone of the group’s expansion plans for Latam is the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange, which is also looking for business development managers and executives for hire in Brazil.
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No wonder why; Brazil is a hotbed of Bitcoin adoption. The capital city of Rio de Janeiro will accept cryptocurrencies for certain taxes in 2023, and according to Triple-A, over 10 million Brazilians own cryptocurrencies.
Cointelegraph reported that 2021 was the year of “mass adoption” in Brazil as UFC stars and politicians stepped into action.
Please note that Cointelegraph has reached out to Coinbase, 2TM and Estadão for comment and will update where possible.
