Tether announced a $20 million investment in the strategic financing round of Mercado Bitcoin, the largest oncheen financial services provider in Latin America. The funds will be used to develop asset tokenization, payment infrastructure, credit, capital markets and international expansion.

Mercado Bitcoin, founded in 2013, has evolved from cryptobanking to a complex financial platform: it serves 4.5 million users, has issued more than 2 billion Brazilian reais in tokenized assets, and operates through 10+ regulatory licenses in Brazil and Europe. Tether CEO Paolo Ardino noted the platform’s uniqueness in the region due to the level of licenses, tokenization infrastructure and integration of financial services.

The investment reflects Tether’s strategy to support blockchain infrastructure in regions with high rates of digital asset adoption. Brazil is seen as a global leader due to its combination of a large financial market, digitalization, and progressive regulation. The news came amid the winding down of Tether’s Alloy platform and aUSDT stablebar to focus on key products, including Tether Gold (XAUT).