Mercado Bitcoin will start operating in Mexico in the second half of the year via an acquisition, CEO Reinaldo Rabelo told Reuters.
Other than saying the purchase will not necessarily be another crypto exchange, Rabelo declined to give more details, saying Mercado is awaiting regulatory approval for the deal.
Mercado Brazil parent 2TM raised $200 million from Softbank roughly one year ago, planning to use those funds to help expand across Latin America. Though the company did enter Portugal through an acquisition earlier this year, in Latin America it continues to operate only in Brazil.
Rabelo said he’s “looking at the Latin American market a bit more cautiously,” due to the struggling crypto market. 2TM last month laid off over 80 employees citing “the changing global financial landscape, rising interest rates and inflation.”
With its arrival in Mexico, Mercado Bitcoin plans to compete in the main market of its largest Latin American peer, Mexico-based crypto exchange Bitso, which started operations in Brazil last year.
The Mexican market stands out as one of the major crypto opportunities in Latin America, especially because of its remittance business.
Bitso processed $1 billion in crypto remittances between Mexico and the U.S. in the first half of 2022, while Tether launched its MXNT token pegged to Mexico's peso and Coinbase (COIN) enabled a cash-out service in the country.
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