Tether Invests $20 Million in Mercado Bitcoin for Tokenization
Tether will invest $20 million in a strategic growth round for Brazil's Mercado Bitcoin, announced on 7 July 2026. The funds will expand tokenised investment products, stablecoin payments, and lending across Latin America.
Tether commits $20 million to Mercado Bitcoin growth round
On 7 July 2026, Tether announced a $20 million investment in a strategic growth financing round for Mercado Bitcoin, Brazil's leading on-chain financial services platform. The stablecoin issuer said the capital will support the company's expansion across Latin America. The round deepens Tether's push into regulated digital-asset infrastructure in high-growth markets.
Mercado Bitcoin serves 4.5 million users across Brazil
Founded in 2013, Mercado Bitcoin has grown from a digital-asset exchange into a full-stack financial platform. It serves 4.5 million users and holds more than 10 operating licences across Brazil and Europe. The company has issued more than R$2 billion, about $370 million, in tokenised assets, and offers trading, credit, stablecoin payments, and cross-border services.
Funds will expand tokenised finance and payments
Mercado Bitcoin plans to use the capital to scale tokenised investment products, grow lending and credit, and advance on-chain capital markets. The company also plans to expand payments infrastructure and pursue international growth. According to Cointelegraph, it deployed more than $20 million in tokenised private credit on Bitcoin's Rootstock sidechain in February 2026.
"Tether's mission is to build open, accessible, and efficient financial infrastructure for the world. Mercado Bitcoin has built exactly that, a regulated, full-stack on-chain financial platform serving millions of users across one of the world's most dynamic financial markets.", 7 July 2026. — Paolo Ardoino, CEO, Tether
USDT circulation underlines Tether's market scale
Tether backs the investment from a dominant position in the stablecoin market. Its USDT token held a market value of about $184 billion on 8 July 2026, making it the third-largest crypto-asset by market capitalisation (CoinPaprika, 8 July 2026). USDT recorded about $54 billion in trading volume over the prior 24 hours, and the token held its dollar peg near $1.00.
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