It appears that the Mexican government has no interest in becoming the next Bitcoin Nation, nor does it want its private banks to go that route.
Mexico says no to cryptocurrencies
The secretary of finance and public credit of the government of Mexico, Arturo Herrera Gutierrez, shared on his Twitter account an official statement from the country's central bank, the ministry of finance and the National Banking and Securities Commission, the Mexican equivalent of the SEC. in the United States—, stating that virtual assets are not considered money under current law and that banks cannot trade cryptocurrencies in any way.
"Financial institutions in the country are not authorized to conduct or offer transactions with virtual assets such as Bitcoin to the public (quotation BTC), Ehter (sic), XRP and others in order to maintain a healthy distance between them and the financial system ".
The statement warns that those attempting to offer any cryptocurrency-related products will be subject to legal penalties under the Criminal Code and other regulations.
Regulators added that operations with stablecoins are also prohibited even if these assets do not have the volatility typical of traditional cryptocurrencies.
The announcement puts a near-final halt to the intentions of several cryptocurrency attempts. However, it appears to respond to reports that Banco Azteca, the XNUMXth largest bank in the country according to BNAmericas, is working on a new cryptocurrency-related service.
Ricardo Salinas, CEO of Banco Azteca, is the third richest man in Mexico and is a longtime bitcoiner. He has made several statements about cryptocurrency adoption and its use case as a store of value, and has claimed to have around 10% of his liquid Bitcoin investment portfolio.
The Tweet that could have started it all
In response to a tweet posted by MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor, Ricardo Salinas assured that Bitcoin was much better than gold and later revealed that Banco Azteca was working to offer solutions that would allow its clients to trade cryptocurrencies.
The tweet can be translated as follows: “Bitcoin is a good way to diversify your investment portfolio and I think any investor should start studying cryptocurrencies and their future. We are working to bring [crypto] to our customers and continue to promote freedom ”.
The news garnered more than 2700 likes and spread like wildfire among cryptocurrency enthusiasts in the country. However, it seems that it was enough for the rumor to reach the ears of the authorities to issue a warning that practically kills Salinas' dreams.
But the bitcoin-loving billionaire doesn't give up so soon. In response to a BTC Times publication claiming that the Central Bank had "shut down" its plans to accept Bitcoin, Salinas responded with a cheeky and provocative "We'll see."
