Stephanie Douse 
Coinbase has been reported to be at the completion stage of the purchase of 2TM, the company behind Mercado Bitcoin that is worth $2.2 billion.
Coinbase is planning to expand its global acquisition strategy by purchasing 2TM, the Brazilian parent company of Mercado Bitcoin.
The Coinbase deal could be completed by next month, according to Estado, Brazil’s third-largest daily, which is read by 212 million people. Throughout 2022, negotiations for the purchase have been ongoing.
Mercado Bitcoin is Latin America’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, and its parent firm, 2TM, became a billion-dollar company in 2021. 2TM, which has a market capitalization of $2.2 billion, has likewise followed an acquisition strategy, focusing on lusophone countries. In January, 2TM’s Mercado Bitcoin purchased Portuguese CriptoLoja, a Lisbon-based crypto exchange.
Meubank, MB Digital Assets, CriptoLoja, Bitrust, Blockchain Academy, MezaPro, Wuzu, and Portal do Bitcoin are now part of the 2TM holding company.
The alleged planned purchase of 2TM by Coinbase suggests that the company’s worldwide acquisition strategy is gaining traction. The San Francisco-based exchange recently purchased blockchain-infrastructure platform Bison Trails, after the acquisition of an Indian AI business to improve customer service after negative criticism from users proved too much.
Brazil is cited 31 times in Coinbase’s most recent institutional investor report on Latin America, “crypto in Latam,” whereas Mexico (with a higher GDP but plenty of crypto interest) is listed only 17 times.
According to reports in Brazil:
“Direct crypto trading is growing rapidly. Locally based crypto exchange Mercado Bitcoin has seen transaction volumes increase seven-fold year-on-year to August.”
The world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange has been on the lookout for business development managers and executives as part of a Brazilian hiring binge, which is a keystone of the group’s Latam expansion goals.
Brazil is a hub for Bitcoin acceptance, and it’s easy to see why. According to triple-A, more than 10 million Brazilians own cryptocurrencies and the capital, Rio de Janeiro, will accept cryptocurrency for certain taxes in 2023.