Coinbase's plans to purchase firm behind Mercado Bitcoin fall through: Report

Published at: May 4, 2022

Coinbase and Brazilian company 2TM, the parent company of Mercado Bitcoin, have reportedly scrapped talks around the crypto exchange purchasing the firm.

According to a Tuesday Bloomberg report, 2TM and Coinbase have ended discussions around the United States-based crypto exchange buying the Brazilian company, which was valued at more than $2 billion. It’s unclear what led to the purchase not going through, as 2TM reportedly declined to comment and a Coinbase spokesperson said it was simply “committed to the Brazilian market.”

Coinbase and 2TM scrapped talks over a possible purchase by the exchange of the Brazilian cryptocurrency brokerage https://t.co/HmZxDj7Koi

— Bloomberg Crypto (@crypto) May 4, 2022

As the parent company of Mercado Bitcoin — one of the largest crypto brokerage firms in Latin America — 2TM cemented its unicorn status in July 2021 following a $200 million funding round, pushing the company ahead of a $2 billion valuation. Cointelegraph reported in March that 2TM was valued at $2.2 billion ahead of Coinbase’s reported plans to purchase the firm. In addition, 2TM acquired a controlling stake in Lisbon-based crypto exchange CriptoLoja in January.

A Coinbase institutional investor report on Latin America from December 2021 suggested interest in expanding operations in Brazil. In April, Brazil’s Senate approved a law to regulate cryptocurrencies in the country, expected to be signed into law by President Jair Bolsonaro by the end of 2022. Rio de Janeiro, the second-most populous city in Brazil, also announced in March it will accept Bitcoin (BTC) payments for taxes related to urban real estate within city limits starting in 2023.

Related: Cointelegraph’s Brazilian version unveils top 10 people in crypto and blockchain

One of the largest crypto exchanges in the United States, Coinbase has reportedly been making offers to purchase other crypto and blockchain firms across the globe. In January 2021, Coinbase announced the acquisition of blockchain infrastructure platform Bison Trails as well as the Routefire platform for enhanced trade execution. In April, Cointelegraph reported the exchange was planning to buy major Turkey-based crypto firm BtcTurk for $3.2 billion.

Cointelegraph reached out to 2TM, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

Tags
Business
Cryptocurrency Exchange
Coinbase
Brazil
Related Posts
OKex embraces Brazil’s official fast payments system PIX, as CBDC draws nearer
Increasing numbers of offshore cryptocurrency exchanges are embracing Brazil’s instant payments infrastructure, PIX. On May 28, OKEx announced a strategic partnership with local payments firm CuboPay, allowing it to facilitate Tether ($USDT) purchases in exchange for Brazilian real via PIX. The news follows similar moves from rival exchanges, including Crypto.com peer-to-peer platform Localbitcoins. The integrations come as the Central Bank of Brazil, or BCB, published preliminary guidelines for a central bank digital currency, or CBDC, on May 25. The announcement emphasizes that the CBDC will operate “as an extension of the physical currency,” and is intended to improve the retail …
Technology / May 28, 2021
Coinbase revenue tripled in Q1, plans to add bank-like services and to list DOGE
The first-quarter 2021 revenue of leading United States-based crypto exchange Coinbase more than tripled its Q4 2020 performance. According to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Coinbase generated earnings of $3.05 per share and total revenues of $1.8 billion. However, the firm fell slightly short of its expected $3.07 per share. By contrast, the company generated $585 million in revenue amid Bitcoin’s (BTC) rally into new all-time highs during the fourth quarter of 2020 and just $191 million in Q1 a year ago. Approximately 94% of the firm’s quarterly net revenue came from crypto asset trading fees. …
Business / May 14, 2021
Coinbase adds hidden message with political undertones to BTC blockchain on day of IPO
The crypto exchange, whose CEO has previously dissuaded employees from expressing political views, started its initial public offering off with a message referencing U.S. President Joe Biden’s stimulus package. According to Coinbase, the crypto exchange had mining pool F2Pool embed the title of a New York Times article in the Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain at 2:05 PM UTC today. The message in block 679,187 refers to the U.S. Congress passing the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 on March 10 — a bill which set aside $1.9 trillion for measures aimed at curbing the economic impact of the pandemic. In posting …
Bitcoin / April 14, 2021
How crypto execs react to economic sanctions against Russia?
As the West and America tighten their economic sanctions on Russia, concerns have emerged about how this will affect the cryptocurrency market. The country has been largely cut off from the SWIFT international payment system, and businesses in the United States and other Western nations are banned from doing business or transacting with Russian banks and the national wealth fund. Executives at crypto exchanges have weighed in on the sanctions and their possible effects. The CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, went on Twitter to voice his opinion on the subject. He claimed that most banks adhere to sanctions rules and …
Regulation / March 4, 2022
Coinbase CEO responds to insider trading allegations with changes for token listings
After some crypto sleuths made allegations of insider trading by individuals potentially connected to Coinbase, CEO Brian Armstrong said the crypto exchange would change some of its token listing practices. In a Thursday blog post, Armstrong did not confirm whether any Coinbase employees had received disciplinary action or been referred for criminal charges in response to allegedly receiving insider information used to profit off certain token listings. According to the CEO, Coinbase planned to change its listing process over the next few quarters “to try and prevent on-chain data giving signal to watchful traders,” to allow users to rate and …
Trading / April 29, 2022