Twelve years after its inception as a cryptocurrency exchange, Mercado Bitcoin is undergoing a significant transformation, aiming to redefine its identity in the Brazilian financial landscape. The São Paulo-based firm is shifting its focus away from the traditional aspects of cryptocurrency trading, such as price charts and trading pairs, to a more comprehensive approach that integrates various financial services. The company is placing greater emphasis on Brazil’s central bank’s PIX payment system, digital fixed income, and enhanced remittance solutions.
In a recent interview during the exchange’s DAC 2025 conference, Daniel Cunha, the head of corporate development at Mercado Bitcoin, highlighted the organization’s ambition to evolve into an all-in-one financial management app. He envisions a “super app” that caters to the spending, saving, and investing needs of Brazilians. However, the firm’s leadership prefers to label the platform as a “financial hub” that seamlessly merges traditional finance with blockchain technology, allowing users to benefit from both realms without needing extensive knowledge about either.
Cunha articulated that true innovation occurs when the technical aspects of blockchain become imperceptible to users. “The customer doesn’t want to hear about blockchains and tokens. They want to know the rate, the risk, and the maturity date,” he explained, particularly in relation to the company’s offerings in tokenized fixed income.
To modernize its communication strategy, Mercado Bitcoin has moved away from crypto-centric terminology, opting instead for more accessible language. Cunha noted a significant shift in user engagement when the term “token” was replaced with “digital fixed income” in their materials, underscoring the importance of clarity and relatability in attracting new users.
The firm is pioneering investment products centered around tokenized private credit, a segment it identifies as a significant opportunity for disruption in Brazil’s financial sector. As reported by Chainalysis’ Global Crypto Adoption Index, Brazil ranks among the top five countries for retail crypto usage, and Mercado Bitcoin aims to create solutions that address common financial challenges, including a stablecoin-based remittance service.
Despite these new initiatives, trading remains a crucial aspect of Mercado Bitcoin’s business model, constituting approximately 60% of its current revenue. This marks a noticeable decline from its peak, where trading comprised 95% of income. The company anticipates that trading will eventually account for less than 30% of its total revenue as it diversifies its offerings, which now include payments, custody, tokenized investments, and asset management services.
Geographically, Mercado Bitcoin is also expanding its reach. In addition to its operations in Brazil, the firm has initiated client-facing services in Portugal and is establishing institutional channels in the U.S., targeted at bridging capital and investment opportunities across borders.
As the company progresses, it anticipates surpassing 3 billion reais (approximately $563 million) in tokenized credit issuance by the end of the year. Currently, about 20% of assets under custody on the platform consist of tokenized real-world assets, a dramatic increase from virtually zero just a few years ago.
This pivot towards a diversified financial ecosystem aligns Mercado Bitcoin with a broader movement in the fintech space. Companies like Coinbase, Revolut, and Paytm are all vying to create their versions of a “super app,” bundling various financial services seamlessly. The strategy draws inspiration from successful models like WeChat and Alipay, which integrate a multitude of features—social, financial, and beyond—into a single platform.
