The group, that controls Mercado Bitcoin, after two investments in the NFT art segment, closes a first round of investment with Block4, a digital collectibles platform for content producers.
Sao Paulo, November 2021 – 2TM, holding which controls Mercado Bitcoin, Latin America’s largest crypto assets exchange, and eight other companies, is increasing its presence in the NFTs segment. Following investments in Tropix and Fingerprints DAO last month, 2TM acquired a stake in Block4, a digital collectibles platform that works with content producers from the entertainment world such as sports, music and influencers. The numerous applications of NFTs pave the way for exponential growth, reinforcing 2TM’s strategic interest in operating in this market.
According to DappRadar, a website that compiles data for blockchain based applications, global sales of these tokens reached $10.7 billion in the third quarter of this year (versus $1.3 billion in the second quarter). NFTs allow the registration of copyrights on images, art, collectibles, and even goods 100% coming from the virtual world. They range from the world of sports to the arts, from the NBA to European football leagues, from traditional art to digital art. Block4 focuses on creating custom products for communities of fans and collectors, in a white label model. “We work with football clubs, artists, brands and content creators in a broad way to create yet another channel of relationship and monetization of their communities.
We offer digital experiences that can connect with other blockchain applications and with events in the physical world to generate much more engagement with fans”, highlights Thiago Canellas, CEO of Block4, which launched its first platform with entrepreneur Alexandre Badolato, also a car collector and the largest individual seller of NFTs in Brazil, through its partnership with the company.
The founders of Block4, Thiago Canelas, Leonardo Cohen and Guilherme Guimaraes.
The new operation expands the range of services and products that the group can offer to its customers and has a strategic importance, as it provides for the expansion of 2TM’s audience, making fans of these content producers fonder of the blockchain world and cryptoassets, explains Roberto Dagnoni, CEO of 2TM. “We see a huge synergy between Block4 and Mercado Bitcoin. We will be able to create partnerships, jointly develop products and distribute these tokens on our platform. In other words, this participation in Block4 follows the same reasoning of the other businesses that we closed in the segment: companies that operate in a market in strong expansion and that have synergy with our ecosystem”, says the executive.
The investments aim to connect 2TM with the best companies and specialists in each segment, as it is impossible to master all the topics, explains Fabricio Tota, business development director at Mercado Bitcoin. “The possibilities of blockchain technology are wide and new products and business models emerge every day. We believe that specialization is important, and we want to foster an ecosystem of innovation. Today, in Brazil, there are relevant players dedicated to the NFT market and that are already connected with other ecosystems, such as the arts, in the case of Tropix, or digital collectibles, in the case of Block4”, says Tota.
This move reaffirms 2TM’s vision: to offer its customers the widest cryptoassets platform and other products and services based on blockchain technology, either directly or through strategic partnerships.
The investment is also part of the growth strategy outlined by 2TM after receiving a US$ 200 million contribution from Softbank in July. The investment turned the group into a unicorn, valued at $2.1 billion.
About 2TM:
The group is an FMItech that creates an infrastructure for the financial market based on blockchain technology, ensuring efficiency and security in funding and investment operations. 2TM’s ecosystem comprises nine companies: Mercado Bitcoin, Meubank, MB Digital Assets, Bitrust, Blockchain Academy, Clearbook, MezaPro, ParMais, in addition to a minority stake in FIDD. 2TM wants to revolutionize the future of the financial market with innovation, technology, security and transparency, democratizing the universe of cryptocurrencies and digital assets, offering different solutions for companies and consumers.
ABOUT US
Block4 is a fantech that creates and manages digital collectible platforms (TiBS), which bring fans closer to their favorite sports institutions, artists, influencers, content creators and communities through highly engaging experiences that blend the physical and the digital (phydital). With multiple partners across different verticals, Block4 uses technology to revolutionize the fan’s relationship with their object of worship, bringing the blockchain and NFTs into the entertainment industry.
