Mexico Fintech Law Virtual Assets Regime

Article 30 defines an “activo virtual” as an electronically registered representation of value used among the public as a means of payment for legal acts and transferable only through electronic media. The definition excludes legal tender in Mexico, foreign currency and assets denominated in legal tender or foreign currency. The provision gives Banco de México a gatekeeping role: fintech institutions may operate only with virtual assets determined by the central bank through general provisions, and they must obtain prior Banco de México authorization for those operations.

The LRITF does not operate as a general consumer-facing crypto exchange license. Instead, it regulates when Mexican fintech institutions may interact with virtual assets under central-bank rules. Article 31 addresses delivery and settlement of virtual assets or Mexican pesos in transactions carried out by ITFs. Article 32 authorizes Banco de México to set characteristics, conditions and restrictions for virtual-asset operations and to impose custody and control measures. Article 33 restricts ITFs from disposing of client virtual assets except under client instructions and subject to the law. Article 34 requires risk disclosure, including that the virtual asset is not legal tender and is not backed by the federal government or Banco de México, together with irreversibility, volatility, technology, cyber and fraud risks.

Banco de México implemented the framework through Circular 4/2019, issued to credit institutions and fintech institutions. The circular narrows authorized activity to “internal operations” and states that institutions may conduct virtual-asset operations only when they correspond to those internal operations and have prior Banco de México authorization. It also states that direct services to clients for exchange, transmission or custody of virtual assets are not eligible under that circular. Banco de México framed the rule as maintaining a “healthy distance” between virtual assets and the financial system while preserving the possibility of internal technology use where risks do not reach the final consumer.

Mexico’s anti-money-laundering law, the LFPIORPI, separately treats certain non-financial virtual-asset services as vulnerable activities. The covered activity includes habitual or professional exchange of virtual assets by non-financial entities through electronic, digital or similar platforms that administer, operate or facilitate buying and selling for clients, or provide means to custody, store or transfer virtual assets. The current text also covers certain operations involving Mexican citizens from another jurisdiction. Reporting and information obligations depend on thresholds and general rules administered through the AML framework.