Use of cryptocurrencies not allowed in Mexico, Treasury secretary Arturo Herrera warned

The Secretary of Finance and Public Credit, Arturo Herrera Gutiérrez, warned that the use of cryptocurrencies is not allowed in the country’s financial system. In a statement, the agency said that “Virtual assets are not legal tender in Mexico and are not currencies under the current legal framework”.

In this sense, he reiterated the opinions issued in 2014, 2017 and 2019, in which he warned against risks associated with the use of this currency as a medium of exchange, as a store of value or as another form of investment.

In addition, the SHCP, together with the Bank of Mexico (Banxico) and the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV), reported that the country’s financial institutions are not allowed to conduct and offer transactions with virtual assets to the publicsuch as Bitcoin, Ehter, XRP and others.

In this context, he indicated that those who omit said recommendation will be “responsible for the regulatory violations that this causes and they will be subject to the applicable sanctions ”. Note that last Sunday, the businessman Ricardo Salinas Pliego expected that Banco Azteca is on the verge of accepting cryptocurrencies.

“#Bitcoin is a good way to diversify your investment portfolio and I think any investor should start studying cryptocurrencies and their future. At @BancoAzteca, we work to bring them to our customers and continue to promote freedom”, Said the Mexican tycoon via his Twitter account.

Plus, he ensured that virtual assets are the new gold, only more portable and easier than having metal bars in your pockets.

On the other hand, the Treasury rejected that in Mexico the offer of the service of management of balances denominated in pesos or in currencies derived from the capture of resources be authorized by means of the obtaining available to the general public, through blockchain technology schemes or distributed ledgers called ‘stablecoins’.

According to the explanation of the mentioned entities, crypto-currencies with electronic mechanisms for storing and exchanging information; however, have no intrinsic value and its technological characteristics may have future uses that could determine its value.

Therefore, it is understood that they are generally assets whose value is very volatile, they are therefore considered speculative.

“Although they can be exchanged, they do not perform the functions of money, because their acceptance as a means of payment is limited and they do not constitute a good reserve or a reference of value.

It should be mentioned that from 2028, the law regulating financial technology institutions establishes that the Bank of Mexico is the only entity authorized to determine the use of certain virtual assets by the country’s credit institutions. This decision will be based on the general provisions enacted for this purpose.

The above occurs one week after Alejandro Diaz de Léon, Governor of Banxico, will point out that the autonomous body does not approve any cryptocurrency and is not authorized to finance leveraged positions ”.

“We have been very clear in our regulations when talking about a healthy distance between crypto-assets and the financial system. It should be noted that crypto assets are in their space, in their territory and we have to pay attention to this healthy distance to avoid confusion for the consumer “Díaz de León explained at a press conference where the “Financial Stability Report 2021” was presented.

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