The fever for cryptocurrencies is gaining strength and Mexico is no exception, that is why starting this Thursday, users will be able to invest in the first crypto backed in Mexican pesos.
Moneta , a company dedicated to digital payment services, launched MMXN , which will operate as a stablecoin , which are digital or virtual assets that are linked or represented to a real value, generally to a currency.
In a first phase, Moneta will offer its customers the purchase of other cryptocurrencies through MMXN – from 1,000 pesos – and in the future it plans to enter the remittance and payment businesses in commercial establishments
Moneta highlighted that the Mexican market is a “virgin territory”, since there is no one who already operates a stablecoin backed by the peso. “We seek to be an actor that drastically changes the rules of the game in the crypto ecosystem in Mexico,” said José Guadiana, VP of Communications at Moneta Digital in Mexico.
On the market for cryptocurrencies in remittances, Moneta will offer lower transaction costs than the current competition.
“We have to make some alliances and get together with people abroad who can do the shipping. When we started to create this project, remittances were an important point. People were losing a large amount in costs for making shipments, we want to change that and the way in which it is done with the minimum cost, ”said Guadiana.
The new MMXN will be available 24/7, which makes it an advantageous tool with banks. The company pointed out that MMXN is not a digital currency or a substitute for the Mexican peso .
Caution
Last Wednesday, both the Bank of Mexico (Banxico) and the banking union ruled out the existence of a digital currency backed by themselves in the short term.
“We have been very clear in our regulation when speaking of a healthy distance between crypto assets and the financial system. Crypto assets are in their territory, in their space, and we feel that we must be careful of that healthy distance to avoid confusion in the consumer, ”said the Governor of Banxico, Alejandro Díaz de León.
Meanwhile, the representative of the banks in the country, Daniel Becker, commented that in the conversations they have had with the central bank “it is not seen that cryptocurrencies will be a game changer in the near future.”
Cryptocurrencies represent a high risk for investors, since the variations in their prices tend to be too disparate in a very short time.
Back
Moneta said it has the backing of Kriptal, a venture capital that has been recognized as an incubator for blockchain projects. The company ruled out that users could commit crimes such as money laundering.
Experts consulted by Expansión said that the platforms must have due knowledge of their clients to determine the origin of the resources.
“The support has to be direct: there has to be a bank account where it is deposited either from the same institution that is being created or by the users who acquire it,” said Salvador Vidal, president of the fintech Snowball.
