Mexico’s third-richest person sent out a heart-warming new year message to Bitcoin (BTC) enthusiasts on Christmas eve. Ricardo Salinas Pliego recommended moving away from fiat money and buying bitcoin in a two-minute festive video. He gives three pieces of advice to his 957,200 followers on Twitter as part of his Christmas and New Year message before asking his followers to retweet and share: “Steer clear of fiat money. Whether it’s the Dollar, the Euro, or the Yen –it’s all the same. It’s fake money made of paper lies. Central banks are producing more than ever.” He pauses before pointing to …

Bitso, a major Latin American cryptocurrency exchange, is collaborating with the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin operator Circle to launch a new cross-border payment tool between Mexico and the United States. The company announced on Thursday that the integration with payment solutions from Circle aims to provide Mexican people with a new option to send and receive payments to or from the U.S. Called Bitso Shift, the new tool uses cryptocurrency to enable low-cost and instant cross-border payments available 24/7, allowing users to instantly exchange between Mexican pesos and the United States dollar (USD)-backed stablecoins. The new offering intends to unlock …

As a result of El Salvador’s mainstream Bitcoin (BTC) adoption, Volaris El Salvador, a local subsidiary of budget Mexican airline Volaris, will accept Bitcoin as payment. The Bitcoin move comes a month after Salvadoran aviation authorities gave Volaris’ local subsidiary permission to operate in the country. Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele took to Twitter to announce that the airline would accept Bitcoin. Ya tenemos aerolínea salvadoreña, de bajo costo y que acepta #Bitcoin @viajaVolaris pic.twitter.com/mMqzxtOYhA — Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) October 20, 2021 In a recent Volaris event hosted on Twitter, President Bukele highlighted that the ability to pay with Bitcoin and …

Medical services company MDS Mexico has launched a rapid COVID-19 testing service that uses blockchain technology to verify results. According to a Sunday report from local media outlet iProUP news, MDS Mexico has launched a digital platform allowing its patients to access results that are updated in real-time. Results are delivered physically and feature a QR code that can be scanned to verify the results and access a patient’s vaccination history on MDS Mexico’s blockchain. MDS stated that it adopted blockchain to safeguard the results of clinical tests, protect patients' personal data and prevent the falsification of COVID-19 test results. …

President of Mexico Andrés Manuel López Obrador said the country was unlikely to follow in El Salvador’s footsteps by adopting cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin as legal tender alongside fiat. In a Thursday press conference, Obrador, also known as AMLO, said Mexico “must maintain orthodoxy” in its financial management and would not be changing its position on crypto. The Bank of Mexico and the National Banking and Securities Commission issued a statement in June warning that financial institutions were “not authorized to carry out and offer to the public operations with virtual assets,” but the president has not often spoken directly on …

The governor of the Bank of Mexico, Alejandro Díaz de León, dismissed Bitcoin’s (BTC) position as a reliable legal tender, citing price volatility as a major roadblock toward full-fledged adoption. Díaz de León said in a Reuters interview that Bitcoin’s position in today’s financial system resembles “a dimension of precious metals” when compared to the central bank’s fiat money. In stark contrast to El Salvador’s mainstream Bitcoin adoption that requires businesses to accept payments in Bitcoin, Mexico’s central bank chief questioned Bitcoin’s position as a viable legal tender: “Whoever receives bitcoin in exchange for a good or service, we believe …

Bitso, a major cryptocurrency exchange in Latin America, will be the core crypto service provider for El Salvador’s official Bitcoin (BTC) wallet, known as Chivo. In conjunction with Bitcoin becoming legal tender in El Salvador, Bitso announced on Tuesday that the firm would assist El Salvador in launching the state-supported BTC wallet alongside companies like Silvergate Bank, digital currency company Athena Bitcoin and blockchain firm Algorand. Silvergate Bank, a California state-chartered commercial bank and a United States Federal Reserve member, will work with Bitso to facilitate U.S. dollar transactions for the Chivo wallet. Athena Bitcoin will provide some front-end services …

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has reportedly reiterated his positive stance on Bitcoin (BTC) despite not being a Bitcoin investor himself. A vocal proponent of Bitcoin who once called it the “only digital gold,” Wozniak reportedly referred to Bitcoin as a “miracle of technology” and a “unique mathematical formula” at Talent Land Digital 2021, a major virtual event in Latin America devoted to technology and innovation. According to Thursday a report by local news agency El Sol de México, the Apple co-founder has also indicated that Bitcoin is better than gold, implying that it’s easier to mine Bitcoin blocks than finding …

Latin American cryptocurrency exchange Mercado Bitcoin has secured $200 million in Series B financing from SoftBank, marking one of the largest crypto-focused funding rounds in the region’s history. Mercado Bitcoin will use the funds to expand its offerings and invest in new infrastructure to meet the growing demand for digital assets in the region, the São Paulo, Brazil-based exchange announced Thursday. 2TM Group, the parent company behind Mercado Bitcoin, is now estimated to be worth $2.1 billion, making it the eighth-largest unicorn on the continent. In the venture capital industry, the term “unicorn” describes privately-held startups with a value of …

Authorities behind financial regulation in Mexico have warned against financial institutions handling cryptocurrencies, saying digital assets are still not considered legal tender in the country. In a Monday press conference, representatives from Mexico’s finance ministry, the Bank of Mexico, and the National Banking and Securities Commission issued a joint statement warning investors virtual assets carried inherent risks as a medium of exchange and store of value. They added that any financial institution based in Mexico is “not authorized to carry out and offer to the public operations with virtual assets,” specifically mentioning Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and XRP. The country’s …

The third richest man in Mexico, Ricardo Salinas Pliego, has doubled down on his support for Bitcoin, revealing plans to open the first BTC accepting bank in the country. On June 27, the Mexican billionaire tweeted his support for the widespread adoption of BTC, noting that his bank is “working” to become the first in Mexico to accept the world’s leading digital asset. The comments follow a massive endorsement for Bitcoin by Salinas, who stated that it was “absolutely right” to think of Bitcoin as the new gold. Sure, I recommend the use of #Bitcoin, and me and my bank …

Eduardo Murat Hinojosa, a senator of the federal government of Mexico, has said he will be submitting a proposal to lawmakers seemingly aimed at crypto adoption in the country. In a tweet today, Hinojosa changed his profile picture to feature the senator speaking into a microphone with the iconic “laser eyes,” indicating support for crypto. The lawmaker said he would be “promoting and proposing a legal framework for crypto coins in Mexico’s lower house,” specifically mentioning Bitcoin (BTC). Voy a promover y proponer ante la Cámara de Diputados un marco legal para las criptomonedas en México #btc I will be …