- The transaction reinforces the company’s presence in the crypto world, boosting its development and adoption in the region.
- Paxos enhances the cryptocurrency transaction experience on Mercado Pago for its Brazilian customers.
Brazil, January 20, 2022 – THE Mercado Livre (Nasdaq: MELI) acquired a stake in Grupo 2TM, the parent company of MercadoBitcoin.com.br among other companies in its portfolio based on blockchain, and made a strategic investment in Paxos, a regulated platform and leading blockchain infrastructure that leverages the Mercado Pago cryptocurrency experience in Brazil. The investments, whose amounts were not disclosed, reinforce Mercado Libre’s commitment to the development and use of digital assets and blockchain technology in the region. With the investments, Mercado Livre also intends to stimulate the regional ecosystem, allowing it to offer products and services that are increasingly relevant to Latin American entrepreneurs and consumers, who are at the heart of its strategy.
A MercadoBitcoin.com.br is the leading platform for buying and selling cryptocurrencies in Latin America and Paxos is a global leader in the cryptocurrency universe and current Mercado Livre partner in the region. Since December, through this partnership with Paxos, Mercado Pago has offered Brazilian users access to the purchase, custody and sale of cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDP stablecoin) through their digital accounts, with transactions starting from just BRL 1.
Mercado Livre has closely followed the evolution of digital assets and blockchain technology around the world. These partnerships and investments are just one more example of the various steps taken to integrate into this dynamic ecosystem.
“As a leading technology company, we are actively evaluating the various innovations and opportunities around this market as it evolves, aiming to be a central player in this disruption. Cryptocurrencies and technology blockchain represent a unique, global and collective phenomenon that breaks down barriers and creates an open and level environment for all consumers to achieve economic empowerment, which is very much in line with our mission as a company.”, highlights André Chaves, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development at Mercado Libre for Latin America.
“We are excited for Mercado Livre to join 2TM and MercadoBitcoin.com.br as a shareholder. As a major player in Latin America’s technology and financial services industries, Mercado Libre can have a significant impact on the future development of cryptocurrencies and blockchain in the region, and we are excited to explore and work closely with the company to that end in the future.”, says Daniel Cunha, Executive Vice President of Corporate Development at Grupo 2TM.
Walter Hessert, Head of Strategy at Paxos, added: “Mercado Livre was the first major platform to give access to cryptocurrencies and stablecoin to its users in Brazil. This investment in Paxos is a strong sign of the company’s dedication to leading the adoption of digital assets on a large scale across Latin America. We are excited to have Mercado Livre as a partner and advisor”.
In line with its purpose of democratizing commerce and financial services, Mercado Livre sees these initiatives in the crypto world as additional ways to improve the experience of its users, contributing to financial education and facilitating access to new opportunities for financial growth, including those outside the financial system.
“2TM and Paxos share our vision and conviction to continue innovating to offer solutions that improve people’s lives, generate value and drive the development of our region. We want everyone to be able to access the cryptocurrency market in a simple and transparent way, that is our goal”, adds Andrew.
Through the Meli Fund, its corporate investment fund, Mercado Livre actively invests in and engages with its portfolio of exceptional and innovative companies, while also unlocking synergies with its wide range of interconnected business units. It is this vision that guarantees its key role within the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Latin America, where it directly impacts hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs and micro and small companies.
About Free Market
Founded in 1999, Mercado Livre (NASDAQ: Meli) is the leading e-commerce technology and digital financial services company in Latin America, with a presence in 18 countries. It offers a complete ecosystem of solutions so that individuals and companies can buy, sell, advertise, obtain credit and insurance, collect, send money, save and pay for goods and services online and in physical stores. Mercado Livre seeks to democratize trade and financial services in Latin America, a market that offers great opportunities and high growth potential. It applies world-class technology to design intuitive solutions adapted to local culture to transform the lives of millions of people in the region. More information at http://investor.mercadolibre.com/
About 2TM
The group is a fintech that creates an infrastructure for the financial market based on blockchain technology, ensuring efficiency and security in funding and investment operations. The 2TM ecosystem is made up of nine companies: Mercado Bitcoin, Meubank, MB Digital Assets, Bitrust, Blockchain Academy, Clearbook, MezaPro, ParMais, in addition to a minority stake in FIDD. 2TM wants to revolutionize the future of the financial market with innovation, technology, security and transparency, democratizing the universe of cryptocurrencies and digital assets, offering different solutions for companies and end consumers. www.2tmgroup.com
About Paxos
Paxos is the first blockchain infrastructure platform regulated. Its products are the foundation for a new open financial system that can operate faster and more efficiently. Today, trillions of dollars are trapped in inefficient and outdated financial trades that are inaccessible to millions of people. Paxos is revamping the financial system to allow assets to move instantly anywhere in the world, at any time, reliably. Paxos uses technology to generate tokens, custodian, trade and settle assets. It creates enterprise blockchain solutions for institutions such as PayPal, Interactive Brokers, Mercado Livre, Bank of America, Credit Suisse, Société Générale and ABN AMRO. Paxos is a fintech with over $540 million raised from leading investors including Oak HC/FT, Declaration Partners, Mithril Capital and PayPal Ventures. With offices in New York, London and Singapore, Paxos takes a global approach to modernizing the financial system.
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