Mercado Bitcoin, Bitso Unite to Challenge Binance in Brazil

Mercado Bitcoin and Bitso have formed a partnership to compete in Brazil's digital-asset market.

The two companies hope to gain scale to operate with more competitive spreads, leveraging their combined customer base of around 15 million in Latin America, including 4.6 million Mercado Bitcoin customers and 2 million Bitso customers in Brazil.

According to the agreement, Bitso's retail customers in Brazil will be directed to invest through Mercado Bitcoin's platform and app, which offer a broader range of cryptocurrencies and digital assets.

The partnership comes as new regulations from Brazil's Central Bank take effect on October 30, requiring crypto platforms to have formal authorization to operate.