Today it was announced that the SoftBank Latin America fund has invested $200 million at a valuation of $2.1 billion in the Series B funding of 2TM Group, the digital asset group that owns cryptocurrency exchange Mercado Bitcoin. The Brazilian exchange has a 2.8 million client base and processed $5 billion in trading transactions in the first five months of 2021. The crypto exchange secured a Series A in January led by GP Investimentos and Parallax Ventures.
Apart from expanding its team, 2TM wants to accelerate the growth of its digital wallet MeuBank and, subject to regulatory approval, launch Bitrust as a custodian.
SoftBank believes 2TM is “a defining player in the cryptocurrency explosion in Brazil,” said Marcelo Claure, CEO of SoftBank Group International and COO of SoftBank Group. “Cryptocurrencies have incredible potential in Latin America. We believe winning in Brazil is critical for 2TM Group.”
This is Softbank’s first big splash in the sector. In May, it participated in the $26 million funding of Brazil’s Hashdex, but it did not lead the round.
Its Line subsidiary recently inked a deal with a blockchain-based digital payment platform targeting the rollout of central bank digital currencies in South America and Africa.
Softbank Group is eyeing the security token sector after becoming a member of the Japan Security Token Association in January.
It also has activities in the telecoms sector as a leading member in the TBCASoft Carrier Blockchain Study Group (CBSG) Consortium, exploring the use of blockchain for mobile payments.
