Mercado Bitcoin, Brazil’s largest Bitcoin exchange, has planned to expand across Latin America.
It has been reported that Reinaldo Rabelo, the Chief Executive of Mercado Bitcoin, named Chile, Mexico, and Argentina as among the jurisdictions it will expand into first, comparing the “regulatory culture” in those countries to Brazil.
However, according to Useful Tulips, Mexico is currently the fourth-largest Latin American country by peer-to-peer Bitcoin trade volume, with Chile ranking fifth, and Argentina ranking seventh.
The report said that the strong P2P trade volume suggest that there may be significant demand from local traders that is not met by centralized platforms, as the announcement comes alongside news of an investment round that saw Mercado Bitcoin raise nearly $38 million from venture capital firms including Parallax Ventures, Evora Fund, and Banco Plural.
It has been analyzed that Mercado Bitcoin will use some of the funds to invest in regulated custodian Bitrust to cater to institutional investors. The exchange will also invest in digital wallet Meubank by allowing customers to store crypto assets, gaming collectibles, and other digital assets.
Brazil’s largest cryptocurrency exchange is expanding into Chile, Mexico, and Argentina as part of its goal to become one of the top five exchanges in the world. https://t.co/MRYYlZH4OE — Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) January 22, 2021
According to the report, once its ecosystem has been consolidated, Mercado Bitcoin is aiming to become one of the top exchanges worldwide.
Rabelo said:
“We want to develop the crypto ecosystem in Brazil and create a market as developed as that of the United States. To do this, we want to be one of the five largest digital exchanges in the world.”
He added:
“Our long-term purpose is to participate in the construction of a new infrastructure for the financial market based on blockchain, smart contracts, and crypto assets.”
Thus, the exchange aims to surpass a user base of 3 million and expand its team from 200 to 300 in 2021.
Source: Cointelegraph