Billionaire vows to run Mexico’s first Bitcoin-friendly bank

Mexico’s third richest person, Ricardo Salinas Pliego, has doubled support for Bitcoin and revealed plans to open the country’s first BTC-accepting bank.

On June 27, the Mexican billionaire tweeted to support the widespread adoption of BTC, noting that his bank is “working” to be the first in Mexico to accept the world’s leading digital asset.

The comments follow a huge Bitcoin advocacy from Salinas who has stated that it is “absolutely right” to view Bitcoin as the new gold.

I definitely recommend using it #Bitcoinand me and my bank are working to be the first bank in Mexico to accept #Bitcoinif you need more details or information, follow me on my twitter account.

– Ricardo Salinas Pliego (@RicardoBSalinas) June 27, 2021

Salinas is the founder and president of Grupo Salinas, a Mexican conglomerate expanding the TV and radio network TV Azteca, consumer electronics retailer Grupo Elektra, Mazatlan FC football club and local wholesaler Banco Azteca.

Banco Azteca, with 2020 annual sales of $ 2.54 billion, operates in Mexico, Panama, Guatemala, Honduras and Peru. The company, which began banking in 2002, provides consumer credit for merchandise, personal and small business loans, credit cards, mortgages, and payroll systems.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Salinas net worth grew by $ 2.8 billion this year to $ 15.8 billion.

The news agency adds that Salinas said he invested 10% of his liquid portfolio in bitcoin last year. He has repeatedly made his homage to the asset, including in an interview with Cointelegraph in early 2021.

Connected: Mexico’s Second Richest Man Says Bitcoin Is “His Best Investment Ever”

In September 2020, the San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange Kraken became the first crypto company to receive a charter to operate as a bank in the United States after obtaining a state license. Wyoming is crypto-friendly. In October of that year, the Wyoming State Banking Board voted to issue a banking charter for crypto-related services to the financial institution Avanti.

Late last year, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency introduced a charter that allows fintech companies to offer credit products without the supervision of state banking regulators. The cryptocurrency custodian, Anchorage, became the first crypto company to receive a charter license in January 2021.