Only with an authorization from Banxico, financial entities in Mexico may offer financial services with cryptocurrencies or stablecoins, otherwise they will be sanctioned
Photo: from INA FASSBENDER / AFP / Getty Images
Wednesday, November 6
Banco de México prohibits financial institutions from operating with cryptocurrencies
Banco de México (Banxico) recalled in a joint statement with the Ministry of Finance and the National Banking and Securities Commission, that there is a regulation that prohibits all financial institutions from operating with any cryptocurrency.
With this statement, The Mexican government emphasized that no cryptocurrency has an official course in Mexico according to the current legal framework of the country. Likewise , it was necessary to emphasize that no cryptoasset represents a currency as such.
Therefore, if any financial institution decides to offer financial services with cryptocurrencies, it must request an authorization from Banxico, according to fintech law or the Law to Regulate Financial Technology Institutions. Otherwise, a violation of the regulations will be incurred and therefore will result in a penalty.
“Financial institutions are not authorized to enter into or offer to the public transactions with virtual assets, such as Bitcoin, Ether, XRP, among others, including deposits or any other form of custody, as well as exchange or transmission “, warns the official document.
These warnings have to do directly with the risks involved in the use of cryptocurrencies as an exchange asset, store of value or form of investment.
However, this authorization will only be for internal operations in order to prevent the risk of any operation with crypto assets from being directly or indirectly transmitted to the client.
“They will not be eligible In order to obtain said authorization, those operations that the institutions request to carry out with virtual assets through which they intend to provide direct exchange, transmission or custody services of virtual assets to their clients. ”
In the same way it was noted that it is not allowed to raise resources either through the issuance or offer of stablecoins, doing so also implies an infringement to the regulations and implies penalties.
This reminder is about that recently the Mexican company Moneta, a leader in electronic payments and big data, announced the launch of a stablecoin called MMXN with the idea of expanding operations with it towards the remittance market. This currency is now in operation.
To offer a service with stablecoins, banks must also obtain a legal authorization from Banxico.
Later in a press conference, the Secretary of Finance of Mexico, Arturo Herrera, recalled that this is not a new position, that they simply saw the need to reiterate it. Herrera, has mentioned on other occasions that “cryptocurrency is not money”,
“Clearly cryptocurrencies are not stores of value. Bitcoin is an asset that is considered speculative, and due to its volatility it is not a medium of exchange ”, stated Herrera.
In Mexico, the owner of the Salinas group, owner of Banco Azteca, Ricardo Salinas, had indicated a few days ago that the entity was working to bring cryptocurrencies to their clients and “promote freedom” and said that bitcoin was a good way to “diversify the investment portfolio” of any client. It seems that these plans are going to have to wait or find a way to obtain the indicated authorization.
