Mexico Senate gets Bitcoin ATM

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Mexico's 14th Bitcoin ATM was installed at the Senate Building on Tuesday, April 26, marking the latest stride in the country's growing interest in cryptocurrencies. The 13 other machines can be found in Mexico City, Tijuana, Cancn, Guadalajara, Culiacán, San Miguel de Cozumel, and Aguascalientes.

There has been a major surge in interest in cryptocurrencies in Mexico in recent months. A local news report from El Heraldo de Mexico reported that once the BTC ATM was installed, a PRD spokesman stated that Bitcoin had already surpassed the transaction volume of mainstream payment methods such as PayPal, Visa, and MasterCard. According to Triple A's 2021 crypto ownership data, 40% of Mexican enterprises are interested in using blockchain and cryptocurrencies in some way. 71% of this group is focused on cryptocurrency usage.

Indira Kempis, a senator and ardent crypto enthusiast, expressed her excitement at the event on Twitter, writing, "for freedom, inclusion, and financial education in Mexico." Senator Kempis is working with ChainBytes, a company that makes enterprise Bitcoin ATMs, to get Mexico's lawmakers on board.

For most of these legislators, this will be their first time dealing with Bitcoin transactions. Senator Kempis hopes that by installing an ATM, legislators would be able to get more familiar with Bitcoin transactions and become enlightened on the benefits that widespread crypto adoption could bring to their country.

The installation of the Bitcoin ATM in the Senate building, according to ChainBytes CEO Eric Grill, is a certainly watershed moment for the country. "We are thrilled to be a part of such a historical moment for Mexico. We are excited and honored to be here and we are doing our best to help these lawmakers understand the advantages of Bitcoin," he said.