What Happened: Not long after Mexico’s third-richest man Ricardo Salinas Pliego announced he was working to make his bank Banco Azteca the first in the country to accept Bitcoin BTC/USD, the government issued a statement of its own invalidating his claims.
In a presentation to the Financial Action Task Force, Mexico’s finance minister Arturo Herrera reiterated that the use of crypto assets is prohibited in the country, and these bans are unlikely to be lifted any time in the near future.
Why It Matters: Salinas, who has a net worth of over $15.8 billion, went on record to state that 10% of his liquid portfolio is invested in the market-leading cryptocurrency.
“I’ve invested a lot of time studying [bitcoin], and I think it’s an asset that should be a part of every investor’s portfolio,” said Salinas.
“It’s an asset that has value, international value, that is traded with enormous liquidity at a global level. And that is enough reason for it to be a part of every portfolio, period.”
According to him, the 21 million finite supply is the “key part” of his thesis about Bitcoin, while he views all fiat currencies as fraudulent because of their depreciating value in the face of inflation and other macroeconomic factors.
Still, his plans to bring Bitcoin to Banco Azteca seem unlikely to materialize in the near future, given the nature of the Mexican Central Bank’s view on cryptocurrencies.
“Financial institutions that conduct or offer operations with virtual assets without an authorization will be in violation of the regulations and subject to applicable sanctions,” stated the report.
Price Action: At press time, Bitcoin was trading at $36,031, gaining 4.73% over the past week.
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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