Central Bank Of Mexico To Issue Digital Currency Soon, Bank Indonesia When?

Mexico announced it will introduce a national central bank digital currency (CBDC) in 2024. (photo; doc. unsplash)

JAKARTA – Mexico has announced that it will introduce a new national central bank digital currency (CBDC) in 2024. The information emerged from a tweet posted on Thursday, December 30.

A tweet by an account representing Mexico's presidency highlighted that "new technologies and next-generation payments infrastructure" will help Mexico become more financially inclusive.

The CBDC plan follows the recent statement by Mexico's President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, that it is impossible for Mexico to follow in El Salvador's footsteps and use cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) as the legal currency in the country.

El @Banxico informa que hacia 2024 tendrá una moneda digital propia en circulación, por considerar de suma importancia estas nuevas tecnologías y la infraestructura de pagos de ltima generación como opciones de gran valor para avanzar en la inceralusión.

— Gobierno de México (@GobiernoMX) December 30, 2021

At least two lawmakers in Mexico have suggested that the country embrace digital assets to spearhead the “shift to crypto and fintech.”

Ricardo Salinas Pliego, a billionaire and one of the richest people in Mexico, also stated that Banco Azteca would consider accepting cryptocurrency. In a celebratory two-minute video, the billionaire recently asked his 957,200 Twitter followers to abandon paper money and invest in BTC, asking them to retweet and share the message.

Although many in the public and business sectors advocate the use of cryptocurrencies, the country's authorities stated in 2020 that cartels use digital currencies to launder money.

With the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies, it is not surprising that governments around the world, including Mexico, are considering setting up a CBDC. As reported by Cointelegraph, the Central Bank of Indonesia thinks that a digital version of the national currency can be a valuable weapon to combat the growing adoption of cryptocurrencies.

However, Bank Indonesia itself does not want to explain in detail how their strategy is to combat the increasing adoption of cryptocurrencies from year to year.