🇲🇽 The Regulatory Crypto Landscape in Mexico

Real problems. Real solutions. Real data. This is Frontera.

Your weekly dose of data-driven crypto insights from the Latin American frontier. From Buenos Aires to Monterrey, we cover it all: the numbers, the projects, the people.

If you’re building, investing, or scaling in Latam, this is where you start.

Listen to the full episode here. 

And don't miss this week's guest podcast with Carlos Valderrama from Legal Paradox, where we dive into how crypto regulation really works in Mexico. 

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🇲🇽 The Regulatory Crypto Landscape in Mexico

Launching a crypto product in Mexico means entering one of the biggest, most complex, and most promising markets in the world. But opportunity here comes with regulatory weight and no room for mistakes.

According to past Frontera reports:

• The Mexican peso (MXN) sees $114B in daily FX turnover, making it the world's 16th most traded currency and 3rd among emerging markets.

• In 2024, $64.7B in remittances flowed into Mexico, the largest remittance corridor on the planet.

• 1,104 fintechs operate in Mexico today, up from just 132 in 2017.

• Yet only 1.6% of them use crypto.

This is a market built for disruption, but with rules that can slow even the best teams.

From licensing paths and timelines to costs and workarounds, in this report we map out what it really takes to launch a crypto product in Mexico, featuring insights from Carlos Valderrama, CEO of Legal Paradox and one of the lead architects of Mexico's 2018 Fintech Law. 

Here's how to navigate the maze.

🛣️ A Fork in the Road

In Mexico, launching a crypto venture means choosing between two different regulatory paths:

• VASP (Virtual Asset Service Provider)

• IFPE (Institución de Fondos de Pago Electrónico)

At a glance, VASP registration is simpler and faster. It's designed for companies that interact with crypto but don't touch fiat. Think wallets, trading platforms, or NFT projects that never hold customer funds in MXN.

IFPE, on the other hand, is the full package. It allows custody of fiat, stablecoin issuance, money transfers, and access to Mexico's financial system. But it comes at a price… literally and figuratively.

Here's how they compare: 

🏆 IFPE: The Holy Grail

Industry experts often refer to Mexico’s IFPE license as the holy grail for crypto companies in the country:

It's the difference between building a wallet, and building a bank.

With an IFPE, a crypto firm can let users deposit pesos into an app, hold those funds as a balance, and use them freely: buying crypto, sending assets, and withdrawing to a bank. All in one place. 

Essentially, the firm can serve as the user’s primary financial account. Without it, platforms must rely on external banks or third-party processors, adding cost, friction, and risk.

Carlos Valderrama says it best:

“An IFPE turns your company into a mini-bank.”

It unlocks full-stack, end-to-end financial capabilities. But getting there is another story.

💰 What It Takes to Get an IFPE

The road to an IFPE is not a sprint, it's more of an 840-day ultramarathon.

While law says approvals should take 90 business days, real timelines range from 18 to 30 months. Legal Paradox estimates around 840 days, with multiple rounds of questions, rewrites, and regulator feedback.

Costs vary, but it's far from cheap. Most applicants should expect to spend between $100k and $500K USD, depending on advisors, tech, and compliance needs. Ready Corp offers a full IFPE setup package directly on their site for 189,900 EUR. 

You're essentially building a bank, and regulators expect it to look like one. To get there, applicants must prepare:

• A full legal setup with minimum capital of 500,000–700,000 UDIs (~$158K–$220K USD).

• Hundreds of pages of documentation, including AML/KYC policies, financial projections, and a continuity plan.

• A vetted team with compliance officers, auditors, and directors in good legal standing.

• Ongoing engagement with the CNBV and Banxico, often through back-and-forth “venting sessions” and observation rounds.

As of April 2025, only 36 companies hold active IFPE licenses in Mexico, according to the CNBV registry. None appear to be dormant or available for sale, but that hasn't stopped acquisition from becoming a preferred strategy.

For larger players with capital and urgency, buying an existing IFPE has proven to be a faster and more strategic path than starting from scratch:

• In 2020, Clip acquired Swap, expanding its financial infrastructure by absorbing an IFPE-licensed platform.

• In 2022, Airwallex acquired Mexpago, using its IFPE license to enter Mexico and scale their payment services.

• In 2023, Walmart México purchased Trafalgar Solutions, gaining the legal foundation to roll out its own fintech products.

📜 Live and Licensed

Despite the challenges, dozens of companies have successfully secured IFPE licenses and are actively operating in Mexico. From exchanges and embedded finance platforms to payments giants, these are the teams building the country's financial future:

• Bitso: Latin America’s largest crypto exchange, offering peso-crypto trading, remittances, and savings tools.

• Mercado Pago: Powers the financial ecosystem of MercadoLibre, from digital wallets to loans and in-store payments.

• Belvo: Connects fintechs to financial data across LatAm through powerful open finance APIs.

• Kuhnipay: Builds real-time payment infrastructure and embedded finance solutions for businesses.

• STP: Operates the backbone of real-time bank transfers in Mexico through seamless SPEI integration.

• Edenred: Digitizes employee benefits with prepaid wallets and smart spending controls for food, fuel, and more.

• Sí Vale: Specializes in payroll-linked digital vouchers for transportation, food, and bonuses.

• ePlata: Expands financial access with a wallet that supports QR payments, money transfers, and prepaid cards.

⛳ Play to Win

Mexico is no longer just an emerging opportunity. It is an active market with real users, regulated rails, and a massive upside… if you can earn your way in.

The barriers are high. Timelines stretch past 800 days. Costs can reach half a million. But companies that secure the holy grail unlock end-to-end control of users and local financial infrastructure.

This is not a place for weekend builders. It's for founders ready to change the world.

If you can navigate the regulatory maze, the reward is clear: access to the largest Spanish-speaking economy in the world, and the financial rails to power it.

Now, the ball is in your hands, you just have to play to win.

📰 Latam Crypto News 📰

🇧🇷 Brazil

🇧🇷 Brazil moves toward a Bitcoin reserve

Brazil proposed allocating up to 5% of its international reserves to BTC through a strategic fund. With a strong crypto ecosystem, it aims to lead Latam in sovereign Bitcoin adoption.

🇧🇷 Itaú eyes BRL stablecoin

Brazil’s largest bank may launch its own real-backed stablecoin, depending on local regulation and how U.S. institutions fare with their stablecoin efforts. The stablecoin multiverse is here.

🇧🇷 Brazil bans crypto for pension funds

Brazil’s CMN banned closed pension funds (EFPCs) from investing in Bitcoin or any digital assets, citing high risk and aiming to protect workers’ retirement savings.

🇲🇽 Mexico

🇲🇽 Bando goes live

Bando is now live, letting users spend crypto on everyday items like Uber, Amazon, Starbucks, and much much more. No bridges. No swaps. Just payments, baby. Check it out here. 

🇲🇽 Felix Pago raises $75M

Felix Pago just closed a $75M Series B led by QED. The WhatsApp-based remittance app moved over $1B in 2024 and is now gearing up for a major expansion across Latin America.

🇸🇻 El Salvador

🇸🇻 Bitget doubles down in El Salvador

Bitget secured both BSP and DASP licenses in El Salvador, expanding its crypto services in one of Latam’s most crypto-friendly markets. Spot, derivatives, and staking now in play.