Cryptocurrency firm Coinbase has rolled out plans to acquire a Brazilian unicorn 2TM before April ends. According to the popular Brazilian print media Estadão, negotiations for the unicorn’s acquisition are still on, having started at the beginning of 2022. 

2TM is the parent company of Mercado, one of the biggest cryptocurrency brokerages in Latin America. The company attained its unicorn status last year. A year after, the company is now worth $2.2 billion. 

Like Coinbase, 2TM has maintained its global purchase goal, snapping up the purchase of Meubank, MezaPro, Bitcoin Portal, and CriptoLoja, which was acquired recently. CriptoLoja is a Portuguese-based virtual cryptocurrency exchange that was bought through the 2TM subsidiary Mercado. 

Recent Purchase Fulfils Coinbase’s Plan to Become Global

Coinbase’s recent purchase means the crypto exchange is still flying high in its attempt to maintain a global dominance. This news adds to the acquisitions made by the company, such as Bison Trails and Agara, an Indian tech startup.

Agara was acquired last November owing to the complaints of several customers. Coinbase used the purchase to expand to India and help the exchange boosts its AI learning and language processing tools to compensate for its struggling support system. 

An Institutional investment report in Latin America states that crypto trading is growing at an alarming rate. Mercado Bitcoin has experienced an increase in transaction volumes over seven times YoY to August in Brazil. It is partly why Coinbase has continued to invest in Brazil and hire Brazilian executives as part of the team.

Is Brazil Becoming a Crypto Hub in the Region?

Following Coinbase’s move to strengthen its global dominance by focusing on investments in Brazil, it’s no surprise that the country aims to become a center for cryptocurrency. Brazil is also in line to push for BTC adoption, following the number of Brazilians that deal in virtual assets every day.

Triple-A has it that the number of Brazilians that own or deal in crypto is over ten million. The number of transactions totaled $4B, with BTC the leading crypto of use. The capital city, Rio de Janeiro, is set to accept digital assets for specific taxes next year. 

Brazil enjoyed massive adoption last year, as many of the country’s politicians and sportsmen got into the act. However, the nation still faces the huge task of implementing a legal framework to guide the use of virtual assets for customers’ protection. 

Last month, Brazil’s EAC signed a deal to regulate the nascent market after meeting some financial experts from the CB and regulatory commission. The Crypto bill, which has been in motion since 2019, has also been approved by the Senate. However, it is yet to be signed by the President into law.