Reports have emerged that Coinbase is in talks to purchase 2TM, the operator of Brazil’s top crypto trading platform Mercado Bitcoin, local daily Estadão reported Sunday.
Despite the lack of official announcements, the two parties had already entered into negotiations for the agreement since last year and are on track to reach an agreement by the end of April.
This move is part of the American crypto exchange giant’s international expansion plans. The Coinbase exchange also revealed in a letter released in February that it plans to enhance its Latin American market presence as well as expand its workforce.
Mercado Bitcoin is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in Brazil. According to Coindesk, it gained 1.1 million new users last year and closed the year with 3.2 million users. Trading volume on the exchange was also $7.1 billion last year.
As well as trading digital assets, the Brazilian platform provides decentralized finance (DeFi) services as well as the development of an ecosystem for a metaverse.
2TM, the company behind the crypto exchange, also owns Meubank, MB Digital Assets, Bitrust, Blockchain Academy, and MezaPro. The company plans to expand to Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico through acquisition. Founded in 2010, 2TM raised $200 million last June and another $50 million in November, valuing the company at $2.1 billion.
Besides Coinbase, other exchanges are focusing on Latin American expansion. Similarly, Binance intends to acquire banks and payment processors in the region. The company even signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the acquisition of Brazilian brokerage Sim;paul Investimentos.
A report further indicated that Coinbase was interested in 2TM after it was unsuccessful in acquiring Mexican crypto exchange Bitso.
