Bitcoin ATM Installed in Mexico's Senate Building, Senator Calls It 'Symbol of Financial Inclusion, Freedom'

Tijuana, Cancún, Guadalajara, Culiacán, San Miguel de Cozumel, and Aguascalientes are other Mexican cities that host Bitcoin ATMs.

By Radhika Parashar | Updated: 28 April 2022 13:41 IST

Bitcoin ATM Installed in Mexico's Senate Building, Senator Calls It 'Symbol of Financial Inclusion, Freedom'

Photo Credit: Twitter/ @ChainBytes

Senator Gustavo Madero getting familiar with the Bitcoin ATM in Mexico's Senate building

Highlights

Mexico’s Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) took initiative
The Bitcoin ATM machine was installed on April 26.
Around 40 percent of Mexican firms are interested in adopting crypto

Mexico's 14th and latest Bitcoin ATM has been established in the turf of the lawmakers. The Senate building in Mexico City now houses a brand-new ATM for Bitcoin transactions. Mexico's Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) reportedly took the initiative to execute this office upgrade. Reacting to the development, Mexican senator Indira Kempis said this action stands “for freedom, inclusion, and financial education in Mexico”. The move adds to Mexico's escalating interest in Bitcoin and the overall crypto sector.

Bitcoin ATMs allow people to exchange their bank notes with Bitcoin purchases. They may or may not have the ability to let people withdraw cash in exchange for the Bitcoin holdings.

Senator Kempis shared a picture with Mexican Senate building's Bitcoin ATM machine on Twitter.

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Por la libertad, inclusión y educación financiera en México.#ToTheMoon 🚀@senadomexicano pic.twitter.com/QytQn58A3i
— Indira Kempis de I. (@IndiraKempis) April 26, 2022

This Bitcoin ATM machine was installed on April 26. Soon after, PRD officials said that BTC transactions surpassed the volume of payments made via traditional cards or apps inside the senate building, Mexican publication El Heraldo de Mexico reported.

As per Triple A's crypto ownership data, 40 percent of Mexican firms are interested in adopting blockchain and cryptocurrency in some manner. Of this group, 71 percent are concentrated on cryptocurrency usage.

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Tijuana, Cancún, Guadalajara, Culiacán, San Miguel de Cozumel, and Aguascalientes are other Mexican cities that host Bitcoin ATMs.

Similar machines have started to crop up in other parts of the world also in recent days.

Last year, retail giant Walmart decided to get 200 Bitcoin ATMs installed in select store branches located across the US.

US-based ATM chain called the ‘Bitcoin of America' has more than 1,800 BTMs across 31 states.

Even the central American country of El Salvador allows people to transact in BTC or convert it to fiat. In September, El Salvador became the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as a legal tender.

Last year, US' Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had warned people against using crypto ATMs, especially the ones that advertise anonymity for transactions.

“These cryptocurrency ATMs may be non-compliant with US federal regulations and may facilitate money laundering. Instructions to use cryptocurrency ATMs with these specific characteristics are a significant indicator of fraud,” the FBI had noted at the time.

Earlier this year, UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ordered all crypto ATMs operating in the country to suspend services calling their operations unauthorised and illegal.

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Further reading: Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin ATM, Mexico

Radhika Parashar

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Radhika Parashar is a senior correspondent for Gadgets 360. She has been reporting on tech and telecom for the last three years now and will be focussing on writing about all things crypto. Besides this, she is a major sitcom nerd and often replies in Chandler Bing and Michael Scott references. For tips or queries you could reach out to her at RadhikaP@ndtv.com. More