Mexico has reportedly gotten another Bitcoin Automated Teller Machine (ATM), and this time it is located in the Senate building in Mexico City. Interestingly, some local politicians, such as Miguel Ángel Mancera, were behind the move.
Bitcoin ATM at the Senate’s Front Door
According to the local coverage, the Mexican authorities installed the 14th Bitcoin ATM in the Senate’s building in the capital Mexico City, hinting at a further future interaction with the digital asset. The remaining 13 such machines are located in major cities like Cancún, Tijuana, Guadalajara, and Culiacán.
It is worth noting that some renowned Mexican politicians lobbied for the move. One of those is Mexico City’s previous mayor – Miguel Ángel Mancera. He believes bitcoin has emerged as a successful competitor of leading payment networks such as PayPal and Visa, and is on a path to becoming mainstream:
“I think it has already reached a point, as we would say of evolution, a boiling point, where it reaches us all.”
Indira Kempis – a Mexican Senator and a keen proponent of the cryptocurrency sector – took to Twitter to highlight the initiative. Standing next to the ATM, she proclaimed the well-known phrase: “To the moon.”
Subsequently, Ricardo Monreal – the President of the Political Coordination Board of the Senate – argued that Mexico’s government should open its arms to the crypto industry and establish a regulatory framework. He pointed out that other Central and South American nations, including Panama, Argentina, Brazil, and Peru, have already hopped on the bandwagon. As such, Mexico should follow suit and not fall behind in that field.
Is Bitcoin Close to Becoming a Legal Tender in Mexico?
In February this year, Senator Kempis vowed to push for a law to make Mexico the second country after El Salvador, where bitcoin is an official means of payment.
“We need bitcoin to be legal tender in Mexico because if it is not so if we do not make that decision as El Salvador did, it is very difficult to take action,” she said at the time.
She also emphasized the need for such legislation since millions of Mexicans lack access to basic financial services, and cryptocurrencies could be an appropriate solution to the problem.
Nearly two weeks ago, Kempis introduced a bill focused on digital assets. However, it was not designated towards making BTC legal tender. Instead, she targeted CBDCs, proposing that “only the central bank” could issue a digital currency for Mexico.