NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – According to Roberto Dagnoni, executive chairman and chief executive officer of 2TM Group, the trading platform’s parent business, Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp has invested US$200 million in Mercado Bitcoin, one of Latin America’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges. SoftBank Latin America Fund made the investment, which represents the Japanese multinational corporation’s largest investment in a Latin American crypto startup, in a Series B funding round. 2TM’s valuation has risen to US$2.1 billion as a result of the investment.
The SoftBank capital offering comes as investor opinion against cryptocurrencies has deteriorated as a result of regulatory crackdowns in China, the United Kingdom, and Japan. In the previous few weeks, this has resulted in outflows from crypto investment products and funds. Dagnoni, on the other hand, was unconcerned by the recent cryptocurrency fall. In a phone interview with Reuters, Dagnoni said, “We are great believers in the principles of crypto.” 2TM said in a statement that Mercado Bitcoin will utilize the capital to develop its operations, increase offers, and invest in infrastructure to meet rising demand for cryptocurrency in the region.
“The platform is extremely well-integrated. As a result, custody is crucial in releasing the institutional market’s power “In the interview, Dagnoni stated. “We’re also considering regional growth in Latam, as well as expansions through M&A (mergers and acquisitions),” he added. According to 2TM, Mercado Bitcoin, which began in 2013, has risen rapidly in the last year, with its customer base reaching 2.8 million in 2021, accounting for more than 70% of all private investors on the Brazilian stock exchange. According to the company, about 700,000 new clients joined up to use Mercado Bitcoin’s services between January and May 2021. The crypto exchange’s trade volume surged to $5 billion in the first five months of the year, surpassing the figure for the previous seven years combined. (Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss in New York contributed reporting; Matthew Lewis edited the piece.)/n
