Mexico's Central Bank Maintains Cautious Stance on Cryptocurrency Amid Calls for Regulation
Mexico's central bank, Banxico, has reaffirmed its cautious approach toward cryptocurrencies in its year-end report, emphasizing the need for international regulation of digital assets. Since 2021, banks and fintech companies in Mexico have been prohibited from offering cryptocurrencies to customers. Banxico intends to keep a healthy distance between virtual assets and Mexico's financial system due to concerns over volatility, cybersecurity, and money laundering.
Digital assets are deemed speculative instruments and are considered outside Mexico's monetary framework. While the report acknowledges global movements toward cryptocurrency regulation, the central bank continues to advocate for a conservative stance domestically. Citing data from Chainalysis, the report notes crypto adoption in Mexico remains low, with a national yearly crypto transaction value of about $71 billion from July 2024 to July 2025. According to Chainalysis, Mexico ranks third in Latin America for crypto activity as of October 2025.
In regional context, neighboring El Salvador has adopted Bitcoin as legal tender, while Bolivia is developing rules to oversee cryptocurrency. Banxico's report warns that stablecoins could pose systemic risks without an international regulatory framework in place and emphasizes that a homogeneous international framework is necessary before broader adoption of crypto assets can be considered.
