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Mercado Bitcoin
Mercado Bitcoin is a Brazilian digital-asset exchange and investment platform founded in São Paulo in 2013 by brothers Gustavo and Maurício Chamati. It began as a cryptocurrency exchange and expanded into digital investments, financial services and tokenization; the company describes itself as Brazil’s first cryptocurrency exchange. Mercado Bitcoin reports serving more than 4.8 million customers and offering more than 600 digital-asset options.[1][2][3][20][21]
History
Market Consolidation and Customer Transitions
In 2026, Bitso and Mercado Bitcoin announced a partnership under which Bitso’s Brazilian retail customers could transfer to Mercado Bitcoin. Bitso stopped direct retail service in Brazil on October 30, 2026, and its help page said services through the Bitso app in Brazil ended on October 31. Bitso’s Brazilian retail customer transition was a service arrangement, not a corporate merger; Bitso continued its other business operations.[22]
Bity announced an orderly closure of its retail brokerage and said it would not seek authorization as a virtual-asset service provider. It said it had chosen not to make the dedicated investment required to continue retail brokerage under the new rules. Bity reported a user base of 850,000. Facilitated migration began on October 2, 2026, with customers able to choose Mercado Bitcoin or Bipa; Bity announced November 18, 2026, as the deadline to initiate migration. The transition remained in progress as of November 2, 2026.[23]
Coinext chose to close its Brazilian exchange operation, citing new Central Bank capital requirements, and recommended Mercado Bitcoin as one possible destination. Coinext’s instructions required customers to move their assets themselves and did not provide for automatic balance transfers. Trading ended on October 15, 2026, crypto withdrawals ended on October 20, and automatic liquidation of remaining crypto began on October 26; withdrawals in Brazilian reais remained available.[24]
Mercado Bitcoin told VEJA that arrangements involving Bitso, Bity and Coinext had brought hundreds of thousands of investors and that about 98% of the assets incorporated through the arrangements remained on its platform, as reported on October 31, 2026. It reported more than 4.8 million customers, more than R$215 billion in transaction volume and more than R$1.4 billion in tokenized assets.[21]
Founding and Early Growth
Gustavo and Maurício Chamati founded Mercado Bitcoin in 2013, when bitcoin was little known in Brazil. Gustavo, who had studied business administration, became interested in bitcoin after reading about it and studying its technology. He recalled that the founders and their initial team of fewer than ten people had no comparable businesses to consult as they built the company and learned about the technology.[5]
The company grew sharply during the expansion of the cryptocurrency market. Gustavo Chamati recalled that Mercado Bitcoin’s operation first became profitable in 2017, when the company grew from eight to 90 employees in a year and revenue, customer numbers and trading volume each increased about sixtyfold. Roberto Dagnoni, who became a senior executive in the group, later said the company had been profitable since 2018. Chamati said the pace of hiring created challenges for training and planning, and that growth had been accommodated by mid-2018.[5][3]
In 2017, former B3 executives Reinaldo Rabelo, Roberto Dagnoni and Mauro Negrete joined the company, along with DealMaker partner Arnaldo Rocha. Mercado Bitcoin also formed an advisory committee of ten executives from traditional financial institutions. The Chamati brothers and the committee began work on infrastructure for tokenizing, safeguarding and trading digital assets. At the time, the company reported just over one million registered customers, about R$10 billion in cumulative trading, and four listed digital currencies.[6]
In 2019, the Chamati brothers left Mercado Bitcoin’s leadership and joined the board of 2TM, the holding company they had also founded. 2TM took control of Mercado Bitcoin.[5]
Expansion and Fundraising
Mercado Bitcoin reported that its customer base reached 2.2 million over the two years before January 2021, and that customers traded R$6.4 billion on the platform in 2020. Trading volume in January 2021 alone exceeded half of the volume recorded for all of 2020. The company doubled its workforce during 2020, from about 100 to more than 200 employees.[6]
In January 2021, Mercado Bitcoin announced an investment led by GP Investimentos and Parallax Ventures, with participation from other investors. The company said the financing would support R$200 million in growth investment that year, particularly for international expansion and product and infrastructure development. In July, it announced a US$200 million Series B investment from SoftBank’s Latin America Fund. The investment valued 2TM, Mercado Bitcoin’s parent, at US$2.1 billion. Mercado Bitcoin later raised an additional US$50.3 million in September from investors including 10T, Tribe Capital, Traders Club, Pipo Capital and Endeavor through Scale Up Ventures Fund.[6][3][5]
The 2021 expansion coincided with a sharp rise in trading. Mercado Bitcoin reported that about 700,000 customers joined from January to May, bringing its customer base to 2.8 million, and that trading volume over those five months reached US$5 billion—more than the volume in its first seven years combined. The company announced plans to expand in Latin America, add products and listings, and increase its workforce.[3][6]
The company developed products beyond exchange trading during this period. Its initiatives included Bitrust, a qualified digital-asset custodian intended to serve institutional investors, and Meubank, a digital wallet and account service that was then awaiting authorization from Brazil’s Central Bank. Mercado Bitcoin also launched Vasco Token, which it described as a soccer-linked token, and obtained a Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) license to operate Clearbook, a crowdfunding platform for startups.[6][3]
In 2022, 2TM announced layoffs, citing changes in the global financial outlook, higher interest rates and inflation. Mercado Bitcoin laid off 15% of its workforce on September 1, 2022. In August 2023, it cut a further 8%, or 45 employees, saying it was rebalancing priorities while continuing to hire in development and product roles.[5]
Tether announced a US$20 million investment in Mercado Bitcoin on July 7, 2026, as part of a strategic growth financing round. LatamList reported on July 9, 2026, that the investment was the first close of Mercado Bitcoin’s Series C, with participation from the company’s founders and existing investor SoftBank. Tether said the proceeds would support payments infrastructure, tokenized investment offerings, lending and credit, on-chain capital markets, partnerships and international expansion. LatamList also reported those planned uses and stated that Mercado Bitcoin had processed more than US$30 billion in transactions and operated under more than ten licenses across Brazil and Europe.[11][10]
Financial Platform and International Operations
By 2025, Mercado Bitcoin was shifting its strategy from a business centered on cryptocurrency trading toward a broader financial platform. The company’s head of corporate development, Daniel Cunha, described an approach in which blockchain would operate behind the scenes, while customers would encounter familiar product information such as rates, risks and maturities. Cunha said the company removed the word “tokenization” from customer-facing materials and saw increased uptake when products were described as “digital fixed income.”[7]
The planned financial services included payments, digital fixed income, remittances, custody, asset management and tokenized investments. Mercado Bitcoin identified tokenized private credit as a focus, describing it as an underserved opportunity in Brazil, and also offered a stablecoin-based remittance service. Trading remained the company’s largest revenue source in 2025, although its share had fallen from a peak of 95% to about 60%; Cunha said the company expected that share to fall below 30% over time.[7]
Mercado Bitcoin was expanding its international operations through a customer-facing operation in Portugal and institutional channels under development in the United States. The company said those channels were intended to connect capital and investment opportunities across markets. A significant portion of its assets under management consisted of treasury assets belonging to small and medium-sized enterprises. In 2025, the company expected to exceed R$3 billion in tokenized credit issuance by year-end; tokenized real-world assets had grown to about 20% of assets under custody on its platform, compared with virtually none a few years earlier.[7]
Tether announced a US$20 million investment in Mercado Bitcoin on July 7, 2026. LatamList’s July 9, 2026, report characterized the investment as the first close of Mercado Bitcoin’s Series C. Tether said the proceeds would support payments infrastructure, tokenized investment offerings, lending and credit, on-chain capital markets, partnerships and international expansion; LatamList also reported plans to invest in payments, tokenized investments, lending and on-chain capital markets.[11][10]
In a September 21, 2026, interview, chief executive Roberto Dagnoni said Mercado Bitcoin continued to explore partnerships, mergers and acquisitions in stablecoin-based payments and cross-border services, including the Brazil–Argentina corridor. The company likewise described continued interest in partnerships, mergers and acquisitions in stablecoin payments and international operations in its October 31 account. Dagnoni said the company intended to offer blockchain-based trading in shares of U.S. companies and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), with tokenized pre-IPO investments as a possible later product.[25][21]
Products and Services
Trading and Digital-Asset Products
Mercado Bitcoin offers cryptocurrency buying, selling and swapping through its platform, as well as custody and access by mobile application, web interface and application programming interface (API). Its trading services include tools for quick purchases and limited orders, a trading panel and charts supplied with support from TradingView. Customers can convert one virtual asset into another without first selling it for Brazilian reais. The company also offers digital fixed-income and variable-income products, staking and tokenized assets.[2][4][1]
Renda Fixa Digital is Mercado Bitcoin’s digital fixed-income offering. The platform also lists Renda Passiva, which allows customers to receive staking rewards through the service, and CriptoCrédito, which lets a customer pledge cryptocurrency as collateral for credit in Brazilian reais without selling the asset. The company’s product pages also describe an investment-profile tool called Bio Financeira.[4][2]
For individual customers, MB One provides personalized service for higher-net-worth clients, while MB Ultra is a premium offering for high-income customers. MB Pay, also presented as a digital account, supports Pix deposits, withdrawals and payments. Mercado Bitcoin’s platform accepts deposits through Pix, TED or DOC, and the company says its customer-service center operates around the clock.[4][2]
Business and Institutional Services
Mercado Bitcoin offers several services for companies and institutional customers. MB Cloud provides infrastructure that lets other companies offer digital-asset products using Mercado Bitcoin technology. MB Prime Services serves investment funds with institutional services, including custody and trading infrastructure. MB Corporate offers businesses capital-market access, tokenization and treasury services, while MB Startups connects startups with potential investors. MB Antecipa converts sales made through payment terminals into credit that merchants can use to pay suppliers.[4][2]
Other named activities include MB Asset, which provides wealth planning and asset management, and MB Securitização, which issues blockchain-based tokens backed by real-world assets such as court judgments and receivables. Mercado Bitcoin also operates an NFT marketplace for digital collectibles and art.[4]
The company’s principal revenue source has been commissions on executed cryptocurrency trades. It also earns revenue from premium advisory, corporate and institutional services. Its simpler quick-trade option may carry a higher charge than its trading interface, with a price that can include a spread; a review of the platform reported that quick-trade charges could reach 3%, with a spread of up to 2%.[4][8]
Tokenization and Partnerships
Tokenization has been a recurring part of Mercado Bitcoin’s development. Its parent group, 2TM, said it had tokenized or distributed public and private debt, carbon credits, utility tokens and decentralized-finance tokens. In 2019, 2TM became the first company to tokenize public-debt assets, according to an account of the group’s activities; in 2020, it issued Futecoin, described as a digital asset based on FIFA’s solidarity mechanism.[3]
Mercado Bitcoin has also pursued tokenized investments linked to Brazilian assets and sports. The company launched Vasco Token and said it was in discussions with other clubs about tokens based on FIFA’s solidarity mechanism. In March 2026, Mercado Bitcoin and Adianta Jus partnered to tokenize and distribute investments backed by precatórios, court-ordered claims against public entities. Startupz reported that their first public issue, PREC01, sold out in under a week and had a maximum offer volume of R$2 million. Startups also reported that the first test public offering sold out in less than a week. Startups quoted Mercado Bitcoin executive André Gouvinhas expecting R$100 million in issuance during 2026; a March 16, 2026, Startupz report gave a R$15 million total issuance target for 2026.[12][13]
Ripple announced on October 3, 2024, that Mercado Bitcoin was its first customer in Brazil for Ripple Payments. Mercado Bitcoin initially planned to use the service for internal treasury operations between Brazil and Portugal, with customer-facing international payments planned for the future.[14]
In a March 17, 2026, announcement, Ripple listed Mercado Bitcoin among Brazilian exchanges and fintechs that were among the first to list and support RLUSD, Ripple’s U.S.-dollar-backed stablecoin.[15]
Sui Integration
On October 29, 2026, Mercado Bitcoin and Sui announced support for clients to buy, sell, send and receive SUI, USDC and USDsui on the Sui network. The announcement said USDsui would be eligible as collateral in Mercado Bitcoin’s lending product. The companies also planned to move Mercado Bitcoin’s tokenized real-world-asset platform onto Sui; the announcement said the platform had issued more than 800 tokenized assets since 2019. The parties were exploring an integration with Hashi for Bitcoin borrowing and lending, but no Hashi-based product was available at the time of the announcement.[26]
Ownership, Governance and Regulation
Mercado Bitcoin operates within 2TM Group, which the company identifies as its controlling holding company. Its related entities include Mercado Bitcoin Instituição de Pagamentos, MB Asset and MB Securitização. The group also expanded into Europe, including through an investment in Portugal, and acquired fund manager ParMais and a significant minority stake in FIDD (DTVM), with the stated aim of connecting cryptoassets with traditional financial markets.[4][5]
In January 2026, Mercado Bitcoin announced that it had acquired control of Banco Mercantil’s CCTVM. The Central Bank had authorized the transaction; the reported purchase price was undisclosed. The acquisition broadened Mercado Bitcoin’s position in regulated securities and foreign-exchange activities.[27][28]
Brazil’s Law No. 14,478/2022 established a framework for virtual-asset service providers and designated the Central Bank of Brazil as their supervisor. On November 10, 2025, the Central Bank issued Resolutions BCB 519, 520 and 521. Resolution 519 sets authorization procedures for virtual-asset service providers, Resolution 520 governs virtual-asset services and provider operation, and Resolution 521 brings specified virtual-asset activities into foreign-exchange and international-capital regulation. The main provisions took effect on February 2, 2026, and reporting on relevant exchange and foreign-capital operations became mandatory on May 4, 2026.[16]
Mercado Bitcoin says it operates in accordance with Law No. 14,478/2022 and Resolutions BCB 520 and 521. Its website identifies Mercado Bitcoin PSAV, Mercado Bitcoin CTVM and Mercado Bitcoin IP as entities in a prudential conglomerate. On October 27, 2026, the company said it had filed an application with the Central Bank to operate as a virtual-asset broker combining intermediation and custody. The application was subject to Central Bank review. The company’s legal disclaimer described Mercado Bitcoin PSAV as undergoing authorization, while its “Quem somos” page described the company as regulated by the Central Bank and the CVM.[2][1][8][20][29][30]
Providers already operating on February 2, 2026, had until October 30, 2026, to file phase one of an authorization request under Resolution BCB 520 and Normative Instruction BCB 704.[17]
Resolution BCB 589, dated September 23, 2026, amended Resolution 520’s Article 91. The relevant amendment took effect on October 1, 2026; from November 6, 2026, financial institutions, payment institutions and other institutions authorized by the Central Bank may not carry out or enable virtual-asset operations with providers that are not authorized in Brazil, except as expressly permitted.[18]
Security and Customer Protections
Mercado Bitcoin says it uses account verification and transaction-security checks, including email confirmation for cryptocurrency transfers. The company also says it participates in the Fintech Segura program of the Brazilian Fintech Association (ABFintechs), which evaluates information-security practices against international standards. Mercado Bitcoin’s security page says annual independent audits have been conducted by EY since 2022, while its homepage identifies KPMG as auditor.[2][19][4]
The company says it reports to Brazil’s Council for Financial Activities Control (COAF), complies with the country’s General Data Protection Law (LGPD), and meets reporting obligations to the Federal Revenue Service and the Central Bank. Mercado Bitcoin also states that virtual assets on its platform are not protected by Brazil’s Credit Guarantee Fund (FGC), FGCoop or a comparable fund, and warns that returns are not guaranteed and prices can be volatile.[4][2]
November 2026 Security Incident
Mercado Bitcoin said it had identified and contained the incident, that customers had not suffered losses and that no data had leaked. It said it was tracking assets and coordinating with authorities. The exchange published destination addresses on EVM-compatible networks, Bitcoin, Solana, Stellar and Tron for tracking. The Defiant reported that disclosed destinations received approximately 106.07 BTC and 2,852.07 ETH. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said Tether froze more than 4.5 million USDT linked to the incident. Later reports on November 2 said deposits and withdrawals remained suspended, with no reopening time announced, while the company said it was working to restore service safely. No perpetrator had been publicly identified in the reports.[9][33][31]
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