@$35236: Mercado Libre Made a Strategic Investment in Paxos and Mercado Bitcoin

The largest e-commerce firm in Latin America – Mercado Libre – acquired shares in the 2TM Group (a parent company of the cryptocurrency platform Mercado Bitcoin). Separately, it made a “strategic investment” in another digital asset-oriented organization Paxos.

Jumping into Crypto Once Again

The leading Argentinean e-commerce platform Mercado Libre, which has displayed a pro-crypto stance during the last several months, continues to support the industry. The company recently announced it allocated an undisclosed amount of its portfolio to 2TM (the holding company of Brazil’s largest digital asset exchange) and Paxos.

Mercado Libre expects this initiative to “stimulate the regional ecosystem, allowing it to offer increasingly relevant products and services to Latin American entrepreneurs and users.”

Commenting on the matter, Andre Chaves – Senior Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development for Mercado Libre – said:

“As a leading technology company, we are actively evaluating the various innovations and opportunities around this market as it evolves, aiming to be a core participant in this disruption. Digital assets and blockchain technology represent a unique, global and collective phenomenon that breaks barriers and create a level, open playing field for all users to achieve economic empowerment, which is very aligned with our mission as a company.”

In turn, Daniel Cunha – Executive Vice President of Corporate Development at 2TM Group – opined that Mercado Libre’s investment could significantly impact the development of cryptocurrencies and blockchain in the Latin American region.

While Mercado Libre’s partnership with 2TM is new, this is not the case with the Paxos one. Last year, the two entities collaborated, granting Brazilian customers the opportunity to buy, sell, and hold Bitcoin, Ether, and Paxos-issued US dollar-backed stablecoin USDP.

Mercado Libre’s Crypto Forays

In the spring of 2021, the Argentinean e-commerce giant allowed customers to purchase numerous apartments, houses, townhouses, lots, land, and other properties in Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, and Cordoba with bitcoin should they be willing to use that type of payment method.

Shortly after, the company strengthened its crypto support by adding $7.8 million worth of BTC to its balance sheet as part of its treasury strategy.

Mercado Libre is listed on Nasdaq and trades under the ticker MEDI. Interestingly, soon after the organization revealed its bitcoin purchase, the price of its shares increased by more than 1%.