{"id":75290,"date":"2026-07-12T09:36:49","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T09:36:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/inside-tethers-20m-bet-on-brazil-operation-veil-of-maya-and-the-stablecoin-hold-dispute\/"},"modified":"2026-07-12T09:36:49","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T09:36:49","slug":"inside-tethers-20m-bet-on-brazil-operation-veil-of-maya-and-the-stablecoin-hold-dispute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/inside-tethers-20m-bet-on-brazil-operation-veil-of-maya-and-the-stablecoin-hold-dispute\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Tether\u2019s $20M Bet on Brazil, Operation Veil of Maya, and the Stablecoin Hold Dispute"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News )<\/b><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"@container mb-[25px] rounded-sm overflow-clip py-0.5 pr-0.5 pl-2.5 bg-success-100\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-col gap-m overflow-clip rounded-[6px] !bg-success-10 p-3 @[420px]:p-m\">\n<h2 class=\"m-0 flex items-center gap-s text-[19px] !text-[#1c1c1c] md:text-[20px]\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"16\" height=\"10\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 10\" fill=\"none\" class=\"shrink-0 text-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><path d=\"M1 1.5h14\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2.5\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/><path d=\"M1 8.5h10\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2.5\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/><\/svg><span>Key Takeaways<\/span><\/h2>\n<ul class=\"m-0 flex list-none flex-col gap-m pl-0\">\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">Tether invested $20M in Mercado Bitcoin, accelerating tokenized asset growth and payment tech across Latam.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">Brazil\u2019s police raided 87 shell companies in Operation Veil of Maya, cracking down on crypto money laundering.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">ABcripto opposed a proposed 24-hour stablecoin lock, warning it will disrupt fast, regulated transactions.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Tether Expands Its Footprint in Latin America With a $20 Million Investment in Mercado Bitcoin<\/h2>\n<p>Latam markets and the companies regulated to serve them are attracting the attention of global companies seeking to establish an institutional foothold in the region.<\/p>\n<p>Tether, the global <span>stablecoin<\/span> company, <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/tether-expands-its-footprint-in-latin-america-with-a-20-million-investment-in-mercado-bitcoin\/\">disclosed<\/a> a $20 million investment in Mercado <span>Bitcoin<\/span>, a Brazilian financial services company, as part of a strategic growth financing round that also included SoftBank.<\/p>\n<p>With these funds, Mercado <span>Bitcoin<\/span> will bankroll expansion improvements in its payments infrastructure, tokenized investment offerings, and on-chain capital markets, aiming to establish a foothold in other countries in the region.<\/p>\n<p>The company, which has over 4.5 million customers and operates in Brazil and Europe, was qualified by Tether as \u201cone of the most comprehensive regulated on-chain financial platforms in Latin America,\u201d and is part of a series of similar investments in payments and infrastructure companies that Tether is backing in the region.<\/p>\n<h2>Operation Veil of Maya: Brazilian Police Dismantle Massive Illegal Betting and Crypto Money Laundering Ring<\/h2>\n<p>On Monday, the Brazilian Federal Police <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/operation-veil-of-maya-brazilian-police-dismantle-massive-illegal-betting-and-crypto-money-laundering-ring\/\">executed<\/a> Operation \u201cVeil of Maya,\u201d cracking down on an illegal betting ring that used shell companies to launder and redirect funds to these activities using fiat and digital currency.<\/p>\n<p>The operation was codenamed \u201cVeil of Maya\u201d as it represents a facade that impedes the appreciation of reality, meaning that these shell companies presented objectives that hid their true purposes.<\/p>\n<p>According to the Federal Police, 87 companies were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.br\/pf\/pt-br\/assuntos\/noticias\/2026\/07\/pf-deflagra-operacao-para-apurar-esquema-de-lavagem-de-dinheiro-ligado-a-apostas-ilegais\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">targeted<\/a> in this operation, but official numbers on their volumes have not been revealed. The specific use of <span>crypto<\/span> assets in the operations would be limited to the transference of funds abroad.<\/p>\n<h2>Abcripto Blasts Central Bank of Brazil\u2019s 24-Hour Stablecoin Lock as \u2018Disproportionate\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>ABcripto, the Brazilian Cryptoeconomy Association, which groups industry giants such as Binance, Coinbase, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/get-started\/a-quick-introduction-to-crypto\/\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Crypto<\/a>.com, and Tether, has <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/abcripto-blasts-central-bank-of-brazils-24-hour-stablecoin-lock-as-disproportionate\/\">introduced<\/a> a document opposing an earlier proposal by the central bank, which recommended a 24-hour lock window for <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/get-started\/what-are-stablecoins\/\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">stablecoin<\/a> remittances.<\/p>\n<p>According to local media, in a letter sent to the Department of Financial Regulation (Denor), ABcripto agrees that regulatory groups must pursue fraudulent and illicit activity, but argues that this measure is disproportionate and must be preceded by more thorough research of the Brazilian <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/get-started\/a-quick-introduction-to-crypto\/\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">cryptocurrency<\/a> market.<\/p>\n<p>As justification for this 24-hour lock on transactions exceeding $10,000, the bank cited a Chainalysis <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/get-started\/a-quick-introduction-to-crypto\/\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">crypto<\/a> crime report, noting that illicit transaction volumes had reached a record high in 2025.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/latam-insights-inside-tethers-20m-bet-on-brazil-operation-veil-of-maya-and-the-stablecoin-hold-dispute\/\">Source link <\/a><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News ) Key Takeaways Tether invested $20M in Mercado Bitcoin, accelerating tokenized asset growth and payment tech across Latam. Brazil\u2019s police raided 87 shell companies in Operation Veil of Maya, cracking down on crypto money laundering. ABcripto opposed a proposed 24-hour stablecoin lock, warning it will disrupt fast, regulated transactions. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":75291,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75290"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75290"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75290\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}