The Senate of Mexico installs its first Bitcoin ATM The installation of the ATM seeks to promote financial education and raise awareness of the need to regulate the use of cryptocurrencies in Mexico.
By Eduardo Scheffler Zawadzki Edited by Eduardo Scheffler Zawadzki
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This article was translated from our Spanish edition.
Yesterday, the forum "Bitcoin: Mexico facing the future" was held in the Senate of the Mexican Republic in order to analyze and trigger the growth of the cryptocurrency market. Organized by Senators Miguel Ángel Mancera and Juan Manuel Fócil Pérez of the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD), the event sought to raise awareness of the need to create a law that regulates the use of digital currencies and that allows users obtain secure digital services.
Ricardo Monreal Ávila , president of the Political Coordination Board in the Senate, spoke of the importance of developing collective financing companies and electronic payment fund institutions, since digital currencies could be an option for the almost 67 million people who do not have access to the banking system in Mexico: "What is convenient for our country is to capture the benefits of this new digital financial industry. Today we will pay attention to Bitcoin, but our legislative work must not lose sight of the fact that it is one of the many cryptocurrencies that exist today."
Mancera explained that, despite the 62 million transactions made between more than 109 million accounts , the Mexican financial system still does not recognize cryptocurrencies: "Bitcoin is not only a speculative asset, it is also a financial system, a system of information with many benefits that the financial system currently does not have, fundamentally transparency and openness".
The installation of the ATM with digital currency
At the initiative of the senator of Nuevo Léon, Indira Kempis , the Bitcoin ATM in Mexico was installed in the lobby with the aim of promoting freedom, inclusion and financial education. Operated by the company Chain Bytes , the ATM will allow legislators to carry out electronic currency purchase and sale operations with a parity of $795,618 pesos for each Bitcoin .
During the event Monreal Ávila explained that in several Latin American cities there are already installed cryptocurrency ATMs like the one in the Senate. As he explained in Bogota there are 24; in Panama, 19; in Santo Domingo, 11; in San Juan, Puerto Rico, 11; in Buenos Aires, 10; in São Paulo, 9; in Tijuana 6, and in Mexico City, 5.
