Mercado Bitcoin — Brazil's largest CEX / SoftBank-backed / RWA tokenization push overview
#exchanges#cex#brazil#brl-spot#rwa#tokenization
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This entry sits under exchanges index. Read it against Foxbit for the closest Brazil peer / contrast context, global CEX top 10 comparison for the broader global benchmark, and RWA tokenization × CEX integration for the RWA-on-CEX vertical.
Founded 2013-07 · Brazil’s largest CEX · held by 2TM Group · 2021-07 SoftBank Latin America Fund led $200M (became a unicorn) · under BCB / CVM regulation · leads South America in RWA tokenization
1. Entity & shareholders
- Trade name (operating company): Mercado Bitcoin Serviços Digitais Ltda.
- Holding company: 2TM Participações S.A. (2TM Group)
- Founded: 2013-07 (São Paulo, Brazil)
- Founders: Gustavo Chamati, Maurício Chamati, Mauro Andrade
- Major shareholders & funding rounds:
- SoftBank Latin America Fund: led 2021-07 Series B $200M, valuation $2.1B (South America’s first crypto-industry unicorn)
- 2X Capital: South-America-focused crypto VC, participated in multiple rounds
- Tribe Capital — Series B
- DST Global (Yuri Milner-affiliated) — Series B
- Coinbase Ventures — strategic investment
- Parallel Ventures — early investment
- GP Investments: Brazilian local PE investment
- Subsidiaries & group companies:
- Mercado Bitcoin Bank (payment-processor related)
- MB Tokens (tokenization subsidiary)
- Portal (Web3 wallet / infrastructure)
- IPO consideration: reports of considering a listing on both US and Brazilian markets over 2021–2022 ; shelved amid the crypto-market downturn
2. Registration & license status (Brazilian regime)
- Banco Central do Brasil (BCB) authorization: under Lei 14.478/2022 (marco legal de criptoativos, the crypto-asset law, promulgated 2022-12 , in force 2023-06 ), BCB was designated as the authorizing / supervisory authority for VASPs (Prestadores de Serviços de Ativos Virtuais, PSAV)
- Over 2024–2025 年: BCB began full-scale operation of the PSAV authorization regime, with Mercado Bitcoin also subject to the registration process
- CVM (Comissão de Valores Mobiliários, Brazil’s securities commission): the supervisory authority for tokenized securities; MB Tokens’ RWA tokenization is under CVM regulation
- Receita Federal: crypto taxation / transaction-reporting obligations (monthly transactions above BRL 30,000 require declaration)
- AML/CFT: reporting obligation to COAF (Conselho de Controle de Atividades Financeiras, Brazil’s FIU equivalent)
3. Traded currencies
- BRL spot market (Brazil’s largest liquidity)
- Number of listed assets: 250+ (major assets such as BTC / ETH / SOL / XRP + Brazilian projects)
- USDT / USDC markets also offered
- MB Tokens (RWA tokenization): sells tokenized products such as precatórios (court-judgment receivables), real-estate stakes, and agricultural receivables (a uniquely Brazilian RWA use case)
4. Scope of business
- Spot trading (centered on BRL pairs, the world’s largest BRL liquidity)
- Derivatives: futures / margin trading are limited; cautiously observing the regulatory environment
- Staking: limited (custodial staking)
- RWA tokenization: offers tokenized products such as precatórios / real estate / agricultural receivables / SME receivables / solar-power receivables via MB Tokens (**in Brazil, the line between utility tokens and security tokens is operated under Lei 14.478/2022 + CVM ICVM 88 **)
- Fiat deposits: integrated with PIX (the Banco Central do Brasil instant-settlement system), via TED / DOC
- Institutional: MB Institutional, OTC desk
5. Market share & trading volume
- Brazilian spot-market share: overwhelming top position (estimated 60–70%)
- 24h volume: $50–500M (BRL-liquidity equivalent)
- Number of users: over 400 万 (official disclosure basis)
- Global CEX ranking: within top 50 (decisively #1 in the South America region)
6. History & major events
| Period | Item |
|---|---|
| 2013-07 | Mercado Bitcoin founded (began operations as one of Brazil’s early full-scale CEXs) |
| 2017 | Established its position as the largest CEX during Brazil’s virtual-currency boom |
| 2020 | 2TM Group shareholding structure completed |
| 2021-01 | 2X Capital led Series A |
| 2021-07 | SoftBank Latin America Fund led Series B $200M, valuation $2.1B (South America’s first crypto-industry unicorn) |
| 2021-09 | Acquired Mercado Bitcoin Bank (payment processor) |
| 2022 | Crypto-market downturn; IPO plan shelved |
| 2022-12 | Lei 14.478/2022 (marco legal de criptoativos) promulgated, Brazil’s crypto-asset law enacted |
| 2023-06 | Lei 14.478/2022 in force; BCB designated as PSAV supervisory authority |
| 2023–2024 | Rolled out precatórios tokenization products via MB Tokens, becoming the leader of the South American RWA market |
| 2024 | BCB PSAV authorization regime enters full operation, Mercado Bitcoin subject to registration |
| 2024–2026 | Expanded RWA-tokenization product line, rolled out to institutional investors |
7. Strategic developments
- RWA tokenization strategy: leveraging the flexibility of Brazil’s legal system (especially locally specific RWAs such as precatórios / agricultural receivables) to establish a position as the leader of RWA tokenization in the South America region. Compared even to global RWA players (see RWA × CEX integration), it holds a distinctive position specialized in uniquely South American RWAs
- PIX integration: full integration with PIX, the Banco Central do Brasil instant-settlement system, overwhelming other CEXs on 24/7 deposit-and-withdrawal UX
- BCB / CVM regulatory response: dual response of PSAV registration after the enactment of Lei 14.478/2022 + CVM tokenized-securities regulation — higher regulatory-compliance cost burden but first-mover advantage
- Relationship with SoftBank: continued support from the SoftBank Latin America Fund, and collaboration opportunities with the Latin America Fund’s portfolio companies
- South America regional expansion: considering expansion to Argentina / Colombia / Mexico, etc., though continuing to concentrate on the Brazilian core
- Stablecoin strategy: a BRL stablecoin concept / providing local liquidity for USDT / USDC
8. Positioning in the industry
As the flagship enterprise of the South American crypto-currency industry, Mercado Bitcoin leads the South American CEX industry through the 3 factors of its response to Brazilian local regulation (Lei 14.478/2022 + CVM tokenized securities) + early rollout of RWA tokenization + support from global institutional investors such as SoftBank.
It does not reach Global CEX top 10 ranking comparison (2025-2026), but in the South America region it is effectively the only quasi-global CEX. As a comparison there is Foxbit (Brazil #2, with a long history of real-pair trading), but Mercado Bitcoin leads by a wide margin in scale, funding, and regulatory response.
Related
- cex-foxbit-brazil — Brazil #2 (most important cross-link)
- global-cex-top10-comparison — Global CEX top 10
- rwa-tokenization-cex-integration — RWA tokenization × CEX integration
- global-vasp-regulatory-comparison-matrix — Global VASP regulatory comparison
- INDEX — Exchange domain index
- cex-coindcx-india — Emerging-market CEX comparison/contrast
- cex-bithumb-korea — Asia-region CEX comparison/contrast
Sources
- Public-information compilation (Mercado Bitcoin / 2TM official IR, mercadobitcoin.com.br / 2tm.io)
- Public-information compilation (Banco Central do Brasil / CVM virtual-asset regulatory statements & circulars)
- Public-information compilation (Lei 14.478/2022 marco legal de criptoativos official-gazette materials)
- Public-information compilation (SoftBank Latin America Fund 2021-07 $200M investment-round announcement)
- Public-information compilation (2X Capital / Tribe Capital / DST Global / Coinbase Ventures investment-round reporting)
- Public-information compilation (BCB ATIVOS VIRTUAIS regulação 2024-2025 public materials)
- Public-information compilation (MB Tokens precatórios tokenization product-rollout reporting, Valor Econômico / Folha de S.Paulo / CoinDesk Brasil)
- Public-information compilation (PIX-integration-related Banco Central do Brasil public materials)