Mercado Bitcoin exchange profile: services, fees, custody and eligibility

Mercado Bitcoin is a Brazil-focused centralised exchange within the 2TM group. It combines cryptocurrency trading with custody and other digital-asset products. The company says it began in 2013 and serves more than 4.5 million customers. That is an operator-reported customer total, without a monthly-active-trader definition in the reviewed company page. It provides scale context but does not establish a global volume rank or the executable depth of an individual BRL market.[1]

Quick trading reduces the number of inputs by expressing a transaction in reais and executing against the available market. Its convenience does not establish a fixed price before confirmation or a universal commission. Pro exposes more information about open orders and execution history. A customer comparing the interfaces needs to compare the final amount of cryptocurrency received or sold, together with the commission shown, because the interfaces use different pricing presentations.[13]

The trading API is free to access and includes order entry, cancellation, balances, positions and fiat or crypto withdrawals. Public REST data and a websocket serve market-information workflows. API creation requires enabled 2FA. The product page promotes testing, but its FAQ says there is no public self-service test environment and directs customers to the team. An automated strategy therefore needs separately arranged testing where required. Its old January–February 2024 promotion should not be treated as an independently current fee offer.[14]

The trader page describes a market-maker programme intended to maintain orders within spread and volume parameters. This is a description of a liquidity arrangement, not a guarantee that every listed asset can absorb a large order at the displayed best price. The Pro toolset includes an order-history view and cancellation of all open orders. Those records are useful when an instruction partially executes or a replacement order is sent.[15]

Stablecoin passive income is economically different from on-chain staking. Its returns depend on platforms receiving the assets, while staking depends on network validation and protocol rules. Neither a dollar-linked token nor a quoted annual rate establishes a bank deposit guarantee. For staking, activation and exit queues affect availability, and validator penalties can reduce assets. The current passive-income page explicitly warns that allocated balances cannot be sold immediately during a market decline.[5]

The trader landing page contains an older high-volume ladder that differs from the dedicated fee schedule below. Resolve any account-level discrepancy before execution.[15]

Quick pricing can add a spread up to 2% to its transaction charge.[3]

The 30-day volume, account tier and commission rate are recalculated daily at 02:00 BRT. The current order does not contribute to the tier used to price that order, and zero-fee volume is excluded. Crypto-to-crypto trades have no trading commission. At the base tier, a R$10,000 execution therefore costs R$30 as maker or R$70 as taker, before other charges.[3]

The new-account promotion grants 48 hours of commission-free eligible crypto or basket transactions from account opening, under the programme that began on 12 January 2026. Existing accounts are excluded; the benefit is personal and non-transferable, and ordinary tariffs resume afterwards. The terms allow modification or termination through official notice. This is not evidence that market spread, a blockchain withdrawal or every separate product charge disappears. A promotional deadline needs to be measured from opening, not assumed to restart with the first deposit.[9]

A R$20,000 collateral value implies an initial R$10,000 advance at 50%, or R$14,000 at 70%, before offer-specific restrictions. These are credit ratios, not liquidation thresholds. The quoted interest rate alone is not the total effective cost. The contract and simulation must establish taxes, charges, the repayment amount and collateral triggers.[6]

CriptoCrédito locks the collateral and debits repayment from the MB digital account at maturity. A substantial price decline can require an additional contribution; failure to restore coverage can lead to automatic sale of part or all of the collateral. Early repayment can release the assets after the debt is settled. The public explanation does not specify a universal liquidation ratio or notice period; those triggers belong in the individual loan agreement. Buying further cryptocurrency with loan proceeds adds borrowing exposure even though the exchange purchase itself is a spot transaction.[7]

BRL deposits and withdrawals are free, with a R$1 minimum.[3]

The retail page lists Pix, TED and boleto. The account’s current instructions determine available routes and beneficiary details. A funding menu does not establish identical clearing times or third-party charges across methods.[17]

MB’s Pix guidance specifies a bank account with the same ownership as the registered MB account. Its original launch article is dated 2020 and warns that details may be outdated, so the historical beneficiary numbers and manual-processing estimate are not reproduced. The lasting operational point is to obtain current transfer details inside the account and ensure the payment can be attributed to that customer. An old saved Pix beneficiary should not substitute for the current instruction.[19]

Crypto deposits require the asset’s receiving address from the account and the exact supported network. MB’s transfer guide also requires the minimum deposit and the required number of blockchain confirmations; XRP additionally needs its destination tag. A transaction can exist on-chain without being credited if the network, tag or required confirmation count is wrong. The guide directs customers to the logged-in asset page for supported networks. Coin names alone do not identify the route, and an address copied for one purpose should not be assumed valid for another network.[18]

The app displays crypto transfer charges and minimums; higher BRL withdrawal limits require support.[3]

The general terms distinguish possession from ownership: MB holds the cryptocurrency, while ownership belongs to the customer. The customer is therefore relying on a custodial platform to execute transfers. Under the closure provisions, remaining crypto can be converted to reais and remitted to the customer’s registered bank account, subject to legal restrictions. Closing an account should not be assumed to preserve every asset in kind.[2]

MB’s security page says customer assets are segregated and not used for the company’s own leverage. It describes transaction and identity monitoring and annual financial-statement audits since 2018, naming EY from 2022. These are operator statements: no complete current audit report or customer insurance policy was inspected. An older credit article names a different auditor, so it is not used as evidence of the current audit engagement. Segregation and an annual audit description also do not establish a continuously verified public proof of liabilities.[4]

The privacy policy describes identity documents, selfies and, in some circumstances, confirmation video or facial biometrics. It also covers transaction records, bank information and device or access data. Refusing information necessary for verification can restrict or prevent use of services. Corporate onboarding includes information about representatives and beneficial owners. These checks are part of operating a custodial account; the ability to browse a market or start registration does not establish permission to withdraw assets.[16]

The terms permit registration from age 12 under the required documentation criteria; this does not establish unrestricted access to every product. MB can reject overseas-resident applications. Its US-person exclusion includes US citizenship, US tax residence and banking transactions originating from the United States. Corporate representatives may need documented authority. The account guide identifies the 12–17 route as MB Nova Geração. Foreign applicants need a valid CPF without tax-register issues and a Brazilian address; foreign nationality alone is not the same as overseas residence.[2][3]

Account reclassification can require residence and income evidence. Product-specific terms may add requirements, including the legal arrangement for companies, credit or allocated income strategies.[16]

Inactive balances can incur R$3.90 monthly only when both conditions hold: total BRL-plus-crypto value below R$50 and no movement for 12 months.[3]

MB advertises human support in Portuguese 24/7. Use authenticated support for sensitive account records. For execution disputes retain the order, displayed fee, fills and requested remedy; for transfers preserve the receipt or blockchain evidence.[17]

The Ouvidoria is an escalation channel after ordinary customer support has failed to resolve a concern or the customer remains dissatisfied. It requests the account holder’s name, CPF or CNPJ, contact details, a description and supporting records. The published domestic telephone is 0800 237 1312, staffed on business weekdays 10:00–12:00 and 13:00–16:00. The page does not specify a timezone or a numeric final-response deadline; it promises the applicable timeframe. The web route below provides the escalation instructions.[8]

The general contract names Mercado Bitcoin Serviços Digitais Ltda., CNPJ 18.213.434/0001-35.[2]

The current footer uses Mercado Bitcoin Sociedade Prestadora de Serviços de Ativos Virtuais with that CNPJ and says Brazilian virtual-asset-broker authorisation is in process. This is MB’s pending-status disclosure, not evidence of a granted exchange licence.[2]

The group also offers digital fixed-income and other investments. Their issuers, legal structures and product protections require separate assessment from ordinary crypto custody.[1]

The Bitso migration information concerns Brazilian individual accounts. It requires an active MB account for the described automatic transfer and says opening an account alone does not immediately import a balance. Its FAQ identifies 31 October 2026 as the Brazilian account-closure date and says remaining Bitso Pix keys are deleted after 30 October; keys do not automatically migrate. This does not describe closure of Bitso’s global business or make the two exchange identities interchangeable.[10]

The same migration page conflicts on the benefit period: its main section runs to 29 November 2026, while the FAQ says 31 October. The precise campaign expiry and fee-waiver periodicity therefore remain unresolved in the public material reviewed. A migrated balance should not be treated as permanently commission-free. The original BITSOMB opening-coupon deadline of 30 September has already passed as of this profile’s check date.[10]

The Bity migration campaign began on 2 October 2026. Customers request migration in Bity, receive a six-digit code and enter it at MB, including when they already have an MB account. The page describes the migration as free and says completion can take up to one business day after the request. It advertises benefits through 29 November, subject to their own conditions. The migration is a custody-and-service transition; the customer still needs to reconcile assets, account identity and transaction history after completion.[11]

Operator

Mercado Bitcoin Serviços Digitais Ltda.

Exchange model

Centralised

Service scope

Brazil-focused spot cryptocurrency trading, custodial accounts and selected staking services; other group products have separate terms.

Client types

Retail clients; Professional clients; Institutional clients

Pricing publication

Public and quoted pricing

Funding scope

BRL funding and withdrawals plus supported cryptocurrency networks; verification-based limits and app-displayed crypto charges.

Custody and asset handling

Customer-owned assets held by MB. Staking and credit collateral introduce additional availability and loss conditions.

Client eligibility

Documentation-based, Brazil-oriented onboarding; product and residence restrictions apply.

Support

Advertised 24/7 Portuguese support with Ouvidoria escalation.

Authorisation and registration scope

MB describes virtual-asset-broker authorisation as in process; no granted exchange licence asserted.

Exchange metadata checked 20 Oct 2026Source 1Source 2Source 3Source 5Source 4Source 17Source 16

Business-account eligibility is narrower than having a CNPJ. The account guide accepts LTDA, S.A., MEI, EIRELI and EI structures, while excluding associations, cooperatives, clubs, religious institutions and similar organisations that lack the required commercial-register status. Opening the registration form is followed by document review.[3]