Mexico’s Financial Minister said the government is banning the use of cryptocurrencies and their circulation in the country’s financial system.
More specifically, Arturo Herrera, Mexico’s finance minister, has said that cryptocurrencies are not legal assets and are not to be treated as currencies under the country’s current regulatory framework.
These bans are not expected to be lifted in the short term, Herrera said during a meeting of the Financial Action Task Force, a global group against money laundering. Herrera published a four-page statement detailing the government’s position.
In addition, the document stated that financial institutions in Mexico are not authorised to trade fictitious assets, such as Bitcoin, Ether, XRP and others, in order to maintain a “healthy distance” from the financial system.
Thus, financial institutions that conduct or offer the possibility of transactions with fictitious assets without a license violate the regulations and are subject to sanctions, the report adds.
It is noted that Bitso, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in Latin America, has its headquarters in Mexico. In May the company raised $250 million in funding and reached a valuation of $2.2 billion.
