Brazil’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Mercado Bitcoin, is doubling down on its European expansion with a 50 million euro ($58 million) investment in Portugal.
Already licensed and operating in the country, the firm says the new capital will fuel product development, hiring and deeper integration between the Brazilian and Portuguese financial systems.
The investment comes as Portugal sharpens its oversight of the crypto sector, bringing the country’s rules in line with the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework.
That includes licensing requirements, stricter anti-money laundering measures and supervision by both the Bank of Portugal and CMVM, the country’s securities regulator.
In Portugal, according to a BlackRock report, investors prefer cryptocurrencies over stocks. The report revealed 43% of Portuguese investors held digital assets, nearly doubling the European Union average of 22%.
Mercado Bitcoin is positioning itself as a financial hub, with tokenized fixed income and international payments services. The move comes as the company awaits the approval of its MiCA license.
A new service, MB One Internacional, gives high-net-worth clients access to accounts in both countries. It’s part of the firm’s broader push to build what it calls an “invisible blockchain” financial ecosystem, where blockchain runs behind the scenes, but users interact with plain-language financial tools.
Crypto trading, once Mercado’s dominant business line, now accounts for approximately 60% of revenue, with the remainder coming from payments, custody, and asset management. Corporate clients, the company told CoinDesk earlier this year, account for between 10% and 15% of its assets under custody.
