Mercado Bitcoin
Brazil's oldest and largest crypto exchange, now pushing into tokenized real-world assets.
On the record
Checkpoint: Series C round expected to close with disclosed total size and valuation
The call
Mercado Bitcoin has the licenses to build a tokenization business Binance and Nubank cannot easily copy, but its core trading revenue sits exposed to both.
Mercado Bitcoin lets Brazilians buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrencies, and has recently moved into more complex services like tokenizing real-world assets (turning things like bonds into digital tokens). The retail crypto trading business is easy to copy: Binance already entered Brazil by buying a local company, and Nubank (a giant fintech with 90 million users) already offers crypto trading inside its app, making Mercado Bitcoin's core business look like a commodity. The one thing that could change the picture is if Mercado Bitcoin can shift enough revenue away from simple trading fees and into the harder-to-copy tokenization and lending services before much larger fintech apps like Nubank, Itaú, or Mercado Pago build their own competing systems.
Why
01
AI pressure: None apparent. AI trading bots and robo-advisors could compress trading fees over time, but no specific AI agent is targeting Mercado Bitcoin's business yet. Could AI do the core job? Unlikely.
02
Bigger players: Binance Brazil, Nubank, Itau, Mercado Pago. Binance already bought a Brazilian broker-dealer license and Nubank offers crypto trading to 90M+ users, dwarfing Mercado Bitcoin's 4.5M. Could a giant copy it? Probably.
03
What protects it. Ten-plus regulatory licenses across Brazil and Portugal, plus a real securitization and tokenized private-credit track record that rivals lack.
What would change this call
Series C round fully closes with disclosed valuation by end of 2026. Shows whether investors still value the company near its 2021 $2.1B peak or below.
Nubank, Itaú, or Mercado Pago launches a regulated stablecoin or tokenization product. Would confirm the super-app threat has shipped and is now competing directly for retail crypto users.
Audited financials disclose trading-fee share of net revenue over next 24 months. Shows whether the core business is still dependent on commoditized trading fees or shifting to tokenization revenue.
Nubank, Itaú, or Mercado Pago launches a regulated stablecoin or tokenization product. Would confirm the super-app threat has shipped and is now competing directly for retail crypto users.
Audited financials disclose trading-fee share of net revenue over next 24 months. Shows whether the core business is still dependent on commoditized trading fees or shifting to tokenization revenue.
Key numbers
- 4.5M users, up from 4M in mid-2025
- $20M Tether first close, total round undisclosed
- 653 employees, growth score 2/100
Named risks
- Brazil's new flat 17.5% crypto tax could shrink retail trading volume, the core revenue base.
- Bitcoin's 20.5% June 2026 drop directly compresses trading-fee revenue.
- Series C only partially closed at $20M with total size and valuation undisclosed.
- Nubank and Itaú could ship regulated crypto/tokenization products, eroding retail distribution.
- Headcount stayed roughly flat since 2023 layoffs, suggesting slow execution.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Binance | gaining on | obtained Brazilian broker-dealer/e-money license via local acquisition, in-market as of 2026-06-27 |
| Bitso | contesting | holds equivalent Central Bank of Brazil payment institution license, as of 2026-06-27 |
| Nubank | gaining on | offers in-app crypto trading to 90M+ users per company blog, 2026-05-18 |
| Foxbit | contesting | rated Brazil's top local exchange for beginners with 1M+ users, 2026-04-30 |
Questions people ask
- Is Mercado Bitcoin profitable in 2026?
- No audited revenue or profit figure is publicly disclosed. Third-party revenue estimates are unverified and contradictory. On July 7, 2026, Tether invested $20 million as the first close of a new growth round, but the company has not released financial statements.
- Who owns Mercado Bitcoin?
- Mercado Bitcoin is privately held via holding company 2TM. On July 7, 2026, Tether announced a $20 million (R$100 million) investment as the first closing of a strategic growth round, with SoftBank and the founders expected to also participate.
- Is Mercado Bitcoin growing its user base?
- Mercado Bitcoin reported 4.5 million clients as of July 7, 2026, up from about 4 million in mid-2025, per the company's own figures cited in Tether's investment announcement.
- Could AI replace Mercado Bitcoin?
- AI can automate support, KYC review and trade execution, but cannot replicate Mercado Bitcoin's over 10 regulatory licenses, including its Central Bank of Brazil Payment Institution license and Portuguese digital-custodian authorization, disclosed July 7, 2026.
- Who is Mercado Bitcoin's biggest competitor?
- Binance obtained a Brazilian broker-dealer and e-money license via a local acquisition and competes directly in-market. Nubank, with over 90 million Brazilian users per its own May 2026 blog post, already offers in-app crypto trading.
- Did Mercado Bitcoin raise new funding in 2026?
- Yes. Tether announced a $20 million (R$100 million) investment on July 7, 2026, as the first close of a new strategic growth round. The total round size and valuation were not disclosed at announcement.
Timeline
- 2026-07-07Tether announces $20M investment as first close of new Mercado Bitcoin growth round
- 2026-07-01Brazil's DeCripto regime takes effect, requiring exchanges to report data to Receita Federal
- 2026-06-30Bitcoin falls 20.5% in June, its worst month in 48 months
- 2026-06Brazil replaces crypto tax exemption with flat 17.5% capital-gains tax
- 2026-02-04MB issues $20M+ tokenized private credit on Rootstock, targets $100M by April 2026
- 2025-11MB partners with Plume Network to tokenize $40M in RWAs
- 2025-07-04MB partners with Ripple to tokenize $200M+ in RWAs on XRP Ledger
- 2023-08-18MB cuts 8% of staff, about 45 people, amid operations consolidation
Revision history
21 July 2026
First assessed. Losing its protection. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- Tether to Invest $20 Million in Strategic Financing Round for Mercado Bitcoin (2026-07-07)
- Mercado Bitcoin Stock Price, Funding, Valuation (2026-07-06)
- Tether Invests in Brazil's Mercado Bitcoin Crypto Platform (2026-07-08)
- Mercado Bitcoin Deploys $20M in Private Credit on Rootstock (2026-02-04)
- Mercado Bitcoin - Headcount, Funding & Open Jobs (2026-06-21)
- Mercado Bitcoin Servicos Number of Employees 2026 (2026-06-29)
- Brazil's Mercado Bitcoin Cuts 8% of Staff (2023-08-18)
- Mercado Bitcoin Expands Global Access by Tokenizing $200M (2025-07-04)
- Plume Network Partners with Mercado Bitcoin
- Revenue, Competitors, Alternatives (2022-04-19)
- Best Crypto Exchanges in Brazil in 2026 (2026-06-27)
- DeCripto comes into effect in 2026 (2025-12-27)