Bitcoin

‘We need Bitcoin as legal tender’

02/23/2022
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Amid El Salvador reporting on cases of the positive impact of the country’s Bitcoin (BTC) adoption, a government official in Mexico has once again urged that the country should follow El Salvador’s example on Bitcoin.

Indira Kempis, a senator representing Nuevo León state, is confident that Bitcoin should be legal tender in Mexico because Bitcoin adoption can potentially drive global financial inclusion.

The senator is now developing a cryptocurrency bill based on El Salvador’s “Bitcoin Law.” She expects to introduce the bill to the Mexican Congress this year, Kempis said in an interview with El Salvador In English publication after visiting El Salvador a few weeks ago.

“It is clear to me that financial exclusion is one of the public problems that few of us have addressed with feasible alternatives, and that this type of technology is allowing us to generate an alternative so that millions of people can be included in the financial system,” Kempis said.

The senator went on to say that Bitcoin adoption is a historic opportunity for countries around the world to address issues like inequality and achieve financial inclusion, stating:

“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.”

The senator also suggested that Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele could have started a Bitcoin revolution that has the potential to reach all countries. “Making Bitcoin a legal tender means putting a level playing field for people who are excluded in almost all countries,” she added.

Taking office in 2018, Kempis has been actively promoting the crypto industry in recent years, joining the laser eyes movement in July 2018. She has been into the cryptocurrency industry for years, surrounded by a community of crypto entrepreneurs, developers and enthusiasts, the senator said, adding: “Now that I am participating in politics, I seek to promote it.”

As previously reported, other Mexican senators including Eduardo Murat Hinojosa were working on crypto-friendly legislation shortly after the Salvadoran Legislative Assembly passed the Bitcoin Law in early June 2021. In October, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador declared the country was unlikely to follow in El Salvador’s footsteps by adopting Bitcoin as legal tender.

Related: Mexico confirms plans to roll out CBDCs in 2024

The latest news comes amid the cryptocurrency industry’s growing momentum in Mexico recently, with major global crypto exchange Coinbase launching instant crypto withdrawals into Mexican pesos last week.

Ricardo Salinas Pliego, Mexican billionaire businessman and Grupo Salinas founder, took to Twitter last Friday to recommend the public to buy BTC and “forget about selling.” He previously advised people to buy BTC in late 2021, calling fiat money like dollars and euros “fake money made of paper lies.”