Senator and crypto proponent Indira Kempis in conjunction with ChainBytes has helped to install the first Bitcoin ATM in Mexico’s Senate building in a bid to make the largest cryptocurrency legal tender.
The ATM was installed on Tuesday with the help of many MPs, including Miguel Angel Mancera, the chairman of the Party of the Democratic Revolution’s (PRD) parliamentary caucus. The country’s 14th Bitcoin (BTC) ATM is now housed in Mexico’s Senate building, indicating the country’s growing interest in Bitcoin.
Indira Kempis, a senator, and ardent crypto enthusiast expressed her delight at the news on Twitter, writing, “for freedom, inclusion, and financial education in Mexico.” She believes that legislators will be able to learn about the world’s largest cryptocurrency.
The exhibit is intended to support Mexican Senator Indira Kempis’s effort to become Bitcoin Mexico’s national currency.
The installation of the first Bitcoin ATM in the Senate building, according to ChainBytes CEO Eric Grill, is a watershed moment for the country.
According to Coin ATM Radar, Mexico City, Tijuana, Cancn, Guadalajara, Culiacán, San Miguel de Cozumel, and Aguascalientes already have 13 such machines.
A local news source from El Heraldo de Mexico reported that once the BTC ATM was installed, a PRD spokesperson stated that Bitcoin has already surpassed the transaction volume of established payment methods such as PayPal, Visa, and MasterCard.
Mexico and cryptocurrencies
In recent months, there has been a surge in interest in cryptocurrencies in Mexico. According to Triple A’s 2021 crypto ownership statistics, 40% of Mexican businesses are interested in using blockchain and cryptocurrencies in some way. Seventy-one percent of this group is focused on cryptocurrency usage.
Furthermore, Bitso, Mexico’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, saw a 342 percent growth in trading volume in 2020, according to the data. There are nearly a million users on the exchange (92 percent are Mexicans).
Indira Kempis, a state senator from Nuevo León, declared in February that she believes Bitcoin should be a legal currency in Mexico since its use might assist extend financial inclusion around the world.
However, Ricardo Salinas, a businessman and proponent of Bitcoin, believes it will be an “uphill battle” to achieve this because his country’s attitude is too reliant on fiat control, which he refers to as “fiat fraud.”
