Mexican president rules out accepting crypto as legal tender

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Mexican President Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador has said the country is unlikely to follow in El Salvador’s footsteps by adopting cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin as legal tender alongside fiat.

At a press conference Thursday, Obrador, also known as AMLO, said Mexico must maintain orthodoxy in its financial management and will not change its stance on crypto. The Bank of Mexico and the National Banking and Securities Commission issued a statement in June warning that financial institutions were not allowed to conduct and offer transactions with virtual assets to the public, but the president did not is not often expressed directly on the topic.

AMLO was responding to a reporter who asked if Mexico would consider following the lead of El Salvador, where Bitcoin (BTC) has been accepted as legal tender since September. He added that while there have been many innovations in finance, Mexico should also be mindful of issues related to tax evasion.

At least two Mexican lawmakers have proposed that the country adopt digital assets to lead the switch to crypto and fintech. Ricardo Salinas Pliego, billionaire and one of the richest people in Mexico as well as the founder of Banco Azteca, also said the big bank would consider accepting cryptocurrencies. Although the country has many people from both the public and private sectors who support the use of crypto, authorities across the country reported in 2020 that cartels were increasingly laundering funds with digital assets.

Related: Bitcoin Transactions Akin To Barter, Says Bank Of Mexico Governor

Other Latin American countries have apparently taken steps towards greater crypto adoption, but there has been resistance in El Salvador after President Nayib Bukeles announced he was moving forward with the legal tender of Bitcoin. In September, locals burned down a crypto Chivo kiosk in the nation’s capital during a protest march against Bukeles’ policies.

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