Country overview

#36
Mexico

Country stats

Rating Points
220
This indicator describes the overall rating of a given jurisdiction on several parameters according to cryptocurrency operations - market volume, crypto regulation, business climate, taxation framework.
Crypto Penetration
3.4%
Estimated percentage of crypto users out of the country's total population based on public data.
Legal Entities
1
Number of crypto companies registered in the country based on regulator data if available or other types of public data.
Regulation Points
120
An overall assessment of the granularity of crypto regulation in a given country. A high score is also given to countries where cryptocurrency transactions are highly regulated.
Amount of crypto users
4 307 800
Total amount of crypto users out of the country's total population based on public data.
Taxation points
20
This figure, according to our analysts' calculations, indicates the overall level of tax burden for cryptocurrency transactions in a given country. The higher the indicator, the lower the burden.
Market volume points
142.8
A rough estimate of this jurisdiction's retail crypto market relative to the rest of the world. The higher the indicator, the higher the market potential.
Status of crypto
Legally allowed
General status of cryptocurrency regulation in this jurisdiction.
Crypto payments
No info
The legal status of cryptocurrency payments for goods and services in a given country based on information from regulators, public data and feedback from our community.
Security Level
Very high danger
The overall level of security in a given country based on open data.
Crypto Salaries
No info
The legal status of cryptocurrency salaries to employers in a given country based on information from regulators, public data and feedback from our community.
Business Climate
Good
Overall assessment of the friendliness of this country for crypto-business. This indicator takes into account the cost of obtaining a license and the attitude towards crypto entities in the country.
Stablecoin Regulation
Low
This indicator is evaluating the regulation of stablecoins in a given country. Complex regulation means that it is possible to issue steiblcoins and obtain a license for this activity. Basic regulation means that the issuance of stablecoins is possible, but not all legal aspects are defined in the law. Standard regulation means that there is a legal practice of steylcoin circulation in a given country.
Bad Factors
No
This section describes the unfavorable economic factors for crypto-business in a given country. These are countries that are under sanctions or on the FATF grey list and other factors.
Types of licenses
Crypto-to-crypto
This license type allows VASP to provide legal exchange from one cryptocurrency to another.
Crypto-to-fiat
This type of license regulates the exchange from cryptocurrency to fiat.
De facto
Cryptocurrency exchange is conditionally legal in this jurisdiction, but no licensing procedure is yet. Registering a legal entity here and performing exchange operations through it without a license is possible.
Fintech
This indicator means that in a given country, companies with fintech licenses (financial services) can legally transact with crypto assets and the country has appropriate licensing procedures.
Good
Medium
Bad
intro

Mexico, which amended its first crypto regulations in 2019, is one of the largest crypto-friendly countries in Latin America. At the same time, it has still some regulatory uncertainty and a lack of VASP regulations.

According to local tax authority Prodecon (1), "12% of the Mexican adult population owns some cryptocurrency, which is why the country ranks as the ninth nation with the highest rate of possession of these instruments in the world."

Security level
Crypto Payments

Based on Mondaq (5), virtual assets do not constitute legal tender in Mexico and are not currencies under the current legal framework.

According to local tax authority Prodecon (6), business transactions in crypto are allowed in the country.

Crypto Salaries

There is no regulation for crypto salaries in Mexico.

Legal

The country has two primary regulators - Central Bank of Mexico (Banxico) and Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores (CNBV). You may check regulators' opinions in the overview of virtual assets regulation worldwide from the Central Bank of Mexico (7).

Based on Chambers (8) Circular 4/2019 (9) and Communication № 039 (10) from Banxico, the first crypto regulation in the country was implemented in 2019.

In May 2021, Mexican legislators established some crypto regulations in Fintech law. It's called in Spanish “Ley para Regular las Instituciones de Tecnología Financiera.”

The FinTech Law allows financial institutions to operate with virtual assets. Сurrently, there are only mandatory licensing procedures for these institutions working with VA: Financial Technology Institutions (“FTIs”), Collective Financing Institutions (“CFIs”), and Electronic Payment Funds Institutions - ("EPFIs", "Institución de Fondos de Pago Electrónico" in Spanish).

No license is required for ordinary VASPs. However, some VASPs also have (11) FinTech license. For instance, Bitso, Mercado Libre and Volabit are registered as "Institución de Fondos de Pago Electrónico". 

Taxation

Based on PWC Tax Summaries (12) average taxes for crypto operation implied to local residents in Mexico are: 25% CGT tax, progressive PIT rate from 1.92% to 35%, and the corporate tax rate is 30%.

Links

1)Operaciones con criptomonedas deben de pagar ISR: Prodecon

2)Crime Index by Country 2023 Mid-Year

3)List of countries by intentional homicide rate

4)List of countries by firearm-related death rate

5) Mondaq. Mexico: Virtual Currencies Comparative Guide 

6) El Economista. Operaciones con criptomonedas deben de pagar ISR: Prodecon. 

7) Sobre los activos virtuales, los riesgos relevantes y el posicionamiento del Banco de México. 

8) Chambers and partners. Cryptocurrencies in Mexico.

9) BANCO DE MEXICO. CIRCULAR 4/2019.

10) Gobierno de Mexico. Comunicado No. 039 Banco de México, SHCP y CNBV advierten sobre riesgos de utilizar activos virtuales. 

11) Mexico Issues First License Under New FinTech Law

12) PWC Tax Summaries. Mexico

Last update: November 2024