El Salvador‘s September 7 decision to make Bitcoin a legal currency will not be followed by Mexico. The country’s president Manuel Lopez Obrador has ruled out that Mexico will ever adopt Bitcoin as a legal tender.
“We are not going to change in that aspect. We think that we must maintain orthodoxy in the management of finances [and] not try to innovate much in financial management”,
The president said this in response to a journalist’s question during a press conference.
Summary
Bitcoin and the South American thesis
The Central Bank President had said in September that Bitcoin was more like a barter than a currency.
“Anyone who receives Bitcoin in exchange for a good or service, we believe that the transaction is more like barter because that person is exchanging a good for a good, but not really money for a good.”
Bank Of Mexico governor Alejandro Diaz said on 9 September.
Not everyone in Mexico agrees with the governor and the president. The country ranks 18th in the world for cryptocurrency adoption.
A senator from the state of Nuevo Leon, Indira Kempis, commented favourably on El Salvador‘s decision to adopt Bitcoin.
“When will Mexico stop with these digital lags so we can deal with our problems, why El Salvador, which has its conditions, and why not Mexico, which also has similar conditions?”
In June, Senator Eduardo Murat Hinojosa had presented a bill to facilitate its adoption in the country
Mexico, Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies
Ricardo Salinas Pliego, the third richest man in the country, revealed late last year that he had 10% of his portfolio in Bitcoin investments. This is just one example of how interest in cryptocurrencies is steadily growing in Mexico.
According to CoinATMRadar, Mexico is one of the countries with the largest number of cryptocurrency ATMs. In 2020, there would already be 15 ATMs, mainly located in Mexico City and Culiacán.
About 78% of Mexicans would be willing to accept Bitcoin as a means of payment.
According to Chainalysis, South America accounts for about 7% of the global cryptocurrency market, with Mexico being the leading country in the region.
Bitcoin transactions for payments from abroad, especially from the United States, are growing steadily.
Last June, Azteca Bank, one of the country’s leading private institutions, tried to implement a plan to accept Bitcoin for its customers. However, the Central Bank expressly prohibited such an operation.
