Tether announced earlier today, July 7, that it will allocate $20 million in a growth funding round to Mercado Bitcoin, a Brazilian company.
The company started as an exchange in 2013, and has evolved into a regulated online financial platform serving 4.5 million users across Latin America.
Why would Tether invest in a Brazilian company?
Tether recently invested $20 million in a funding round for Mercado Bitcoin. according to Tether adThese funds will help Mercado Bitcoin further expand its operations to include payments, credit, token investments and on-chain capital markets.
Mercado Bitcoin holds more than 10 licenses across Brazil and Europe, including a payment institution license from the Brazilian central bank, Banco Central do Brasil. It operates brokerage and dealer operations, a securitization arm, and an asset management business. The company has reportedly issued over R$2 billion worth of token assets.
Tether not only invests in unlicensed companies, but also has a wide range of reach, such as Mercado Bitcoin. Tether CEO Paulo Ardoino said in the announcement that the company’s depth of licensing and tokenization infrastructure is “unparalleled in Latin America.”
Distribution pattern of Tether trades
So far in 2026, Tether has done just that Supported companies over and over again It could put USDT in front of users who are not crypto natives.
In April, the company led an $8 million round for Abu Dhabi token startup KAIO. The company is raising funds from managers like BlackRock and Hamilton Lane on blockchain rails and has raised $19 million in total.
Cryptopolitan I mentioned In May, Tether invested an undisclosed sum in cross-border payments app LemFi to include USDT as a settlement layer for remittances to Africa and Asia.
pregnancy I mentioned About $1.04 billion net profit for the first quarter of 2026 and excess reserves of $8.23 billion as of March 31, according to testimony covered by Cryptopolitan. Its direct and indirect exposure to US Treasury securities was approximately $141 billion, making it the 17th largest holder of US government debt worldwide. The company’s stablecoin liquidity currently stands at around $185 billion
Neither company has provided a timeline or evaluation for Mercado Bitcoin.
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