Mexico flirts with bitcoin, now in the Senate

Mexico flirt with him bitcoin and curiosity towards cryptocurrency has already set in among politicians.

First there were those who are passionate about technology, young entrepreneurs and companies that use it to provide financial services —the Fintechs. Then the full support offered by one of the richest men in the country, Ricardo Salinas Pliegowhich strongly encourages its use in its social networks.

Now it is the senators who are making force. This week many agreed on the need to regulate the use of cryptocurrencies, although it is still not clear how, while some approached the new bitcoin ATM installed in the Upper House to see how this new reality worked.

They scanned a QR code, entered a few pesos in the ATM and that money was converted into bitcoin, even if it was only in a few cents of cryptocurrency. They left happy, although they were not sure if they would use it again.

“There is an opening for discussion”said Indira Kempisone of the senators who propose that bitcoin become legal tender in Mexico, something that, for now, still seems like a distant option.

Kempis, member of the opposition Citizen movementassured that one of the main advantages of cryptocurrency would be to become an alternative to cover the needs of part of the 67 million Mexicans who, according to their data, are excluded from the financial system, but the priority, for now, is to bring this reality closer who should pass the laws.

The first, he argued, is “learn to say I don’t know” and encourage curious senators to come and buy, even if it was only the equivalent of a few pesos, in the most famous cryptocurrency that she already uses, she said, for some purchases and above all to save.

In Kempis’s opinion, popularizing the use of bitcoin will be a process similar to what electronic commerce entailed at the beginning —which many distrusted for years— and in addition to generating new economic opportunities, it could facilitate the receipt of remittances for many Mexicans who live in isolated communities and do not have a bank account but do have a cell phone and internet access, albeit intermittent.

Facilitating remittances, which in Mexico already account for higher income than tourism and oil, was also one of the arguments used by El Salvador to become the first country in the world to make bitcoin its legal tender along with the dollar in September of last year. Your president, Nayib Bukeleconsidered that it would bring financial inclusion, investment, tourism, innovation and economic development to El Salvador.

The Central African Republic followed in the footsteps of The Savior this month.

Financial institutions are not entirely convinced. The International Monetary Fund In January, he urged the Salvadoran government to back down because he considered that having bitcoin as legal tender implied “serious risks to financial and market integrity”.

In Mexico they warned of its volatility and since the first ATMs were installed, the National Commission for the Protection and Defense of Users of Financial Services, warned that the authorities cannot respond for any loss or significant change in its value.

Despite the problems that El Salvador has had, proposals to regulate and promote cryptocurrencies are gradually making their way in other Latin American countries.

“We cannot ignore a reality that exists”added Kempis, and the way to do it correctly is by agreeing on appropriate legislation.

Mexico already has a “Fintech Law” and a Monetary Law. For this reason, the president of the Political Coordination Board, Ricardo Monreal Ávila, of the ruling party, indicated this week that now it is intended to adapt them “and take advantage of this growing market”.