North America

Mexico crypto restrictions and exchange access

Crypto is legal for individuals in Mexico, but banks and fintech institutions may not offer it to the public, so residents trade on exchanges that SAT registers for anti-money-laundering only.

Available

of 22 platforms

Limited

of 22 platforms

Restricted

of 22 platforms

Regulators

Top exchanges by access score

Last updated 17 Oct 2026

Map of Mexico and its neighbours with Mexico shaded available overall. Beside it: 0 of 22 tracked platforms refuse Mexican residents (1 is limited, Gemini, and 21 are available); 2 exchanges, Binance and Bitget, report a vulnerable-activity registration with the tax authority SAT on their own pages; SAT sets the notice threshold for dealings in virtual assets at 210 UMA, MXN 24,635 for one operation; the top rate of the 2026 annual income tax table is 35%, from MXN 5.1 million a year.

Is crypto legal in Mexico?

Yes for individuals. We found no Mexican law that bans buying, holding or trading crypto, but banks and fintech institutions may not offer it to the public, and exchanges are policed as an anti-money-laundering activity, not licensed.

The central bank, the finance ministry and the banking regulator said so together on 28 June 2021: virtual assets are not legal tender in Mexico and are not foreign currency, and financial institutions are not authorised to carry out and offer virtual-asset operations to the public. The release repeats warnings issued since 2014. Nothing in it bars a person from holding crypto.

The Fintech Law of 2018 defines a virtual asset and lets fintech institutions operate only with the assets Banxico approves, per a mirror of article 30; we could not open the official text. Banxico’s Circular 4/2019, published in the official gazette on 8 March 2019, then confines banks and fintech institutions to internal operations with virtual assets, with Banxico’s prior authorisation. Offering clients exchange, transmission or custody services directly is not eligible. We found no change to this regime in 2024 to 2026, though secondary reports from May 2026 say the CNBV reaffirmed the bank ban.

The CNBV authorises the fintech institutions (ITFs) the law creates. Its ITF page does not mention virtual assets, and we could not confirm any authorised ITF that exchanges or holds crypto for the public. Exchanges sit outside that perimeter and under the anti-money-laundering law, covered below.

Which crypto exchanges work in Mexico?

All 14 exchanges we track serve Mexican residents: 13 are available and Gemini is limited because it offers no derivatives here. Mexico licenses none of them; two, Binance and Bitget, report a SAT registration on their own pages.

An exchange that offers virtual-asset exchange to the public as a habitual and professional business is a vulnerable activity under article 17, fraction XVI, of the anti-money-laundering law (LFPIORPI), according to SAT’s 2026 FAQ. It must register with SAT, identify every client and file notices above a threshold. That registers the business for reporting; it does not authorise it to operate, and we found no public SAT list of registered exchanges.

Binance lists Bmex Techfin, S. de R.L. de C.V. as its Mexican entity on its licences page, registered with SAT for virtual-asset services. Bitget lists Mexico in its regulatory table as a vulnerable-activity registration with SAT, without naming a company or a date. Both statements are the platforms’ own; we could not check them against a SAT register. A third-party summary says Binance also owns a Mexican payments institution, but we could not confirm it on a regulator page.

Mexico’s local exchange Bitso is not among the platforms we track.

Best crypto platforms for Mexican residents

By our access score, Binance and Bitget (9.0 out of 10) are the most open exchanges for Mexican residents, because each reports a SAT registration. Most other exchanges and DeFi platforms follow at 8.0, and Gemini (limited) and Coinbase trail.

The score rates how fully a Mexican resident can use each platform, not its fees or safety. It is computed from our data and moves when a row changes: access status (4 points), the share of the platform’s products open here (3), the licences we hold on file for Mexico (2) and what our geo-access test saw from a Mexican address (1). Platforms that refuse Mexican residents are not scored, and none refuses them. The full method is on our methodology page.

Exchanges

Binance
Best for A reported SAT registration, with a local entity
9.0/10
Access
4/4
Products
3/3
Licences
1/2
Our test
1/1
Pros
- Bmex Techfin reports a SAT vulnerable-activity registration on Binance's licences page
- Mexico is not on its prohibited-countries list (updated 5 January 2026)
Cons
- The registration is self-reported: no public SAT list confirms it
Read our Binance report
Bitget
Best for A reported SAT registration
9.0/10
Access
4/4
Products
3/3
Licences
1/2
Our test
1/1
Pros
- Its regulatory table lists a SAT vulnerable-activity registration for Mexico
- Mexico is not on its prohibited-countries list (updated 16 October 2026)
Cons
- It names no Mexican company and no registration date
Read our Bitget report
Bitstamp
Best for Plain spot trading
8.0/10
Access
4/4
Products
3/3
Licences
0/2
Our test
1/1
Pros
- No Bitstamp document excludes Mexico
- Its home page loaded in our test
Cons
- No SAT registration on file
- Its sign-up address returned a 404 error in our test
Read our Bitstamp report
Bybit
Best for Spot and derivatives in one account
8.0/10
Access
4/4
Products
3/3
Licences
0/2
Our test
1/1
Pros
- Mexico is not on its excluded-jurisdictions list
- Its sign-up form offered Mexico as the place you live
Cons
- No SAT registration on file
Read our Bybit report
Crypto.com
Best for Trading in an app
8.0/10
Access
4/4
Products
3/3
Licences
0/2
Our test
1/1
Pros
- Mexico is not on its app or spot geo-restriction lists
- Its home page loaded in our test
Cons
- No SAT registration on file
Read our Crypto.com report
Kraken
Best for Funding with pesos
8.0/10
Access
4/4
Products
3/3
Licences
0/2
Our test
1/1
Pros
- Accepts MXN deposits by SPEI with no fee, per its support page
- Mexico is not on its do-not-serve list
Cons
- MXN cannot be held: deposits convert to USD
- No SAT registration on file
Read our Kraken report
OKX
Best for A global brand with a wide product range
8.0/10
Access
4/4
Products
3/3
Licences
0/2
Our test
1/1
Pros
- Mexico is not on its restricted-locations list (updated 8 July 2026)
- Its sign-up page loaded in our test
Cons
- No SAT registration on file
Read our OKX report
Coinbase
Best for A familiar US exchange for spot buying
7.5/10
Access
4/4
Products
3/3
Licences
0/2
Our test
0.5/1
Pros
- Mexico is a listed sign-up country in its identity-verification guide
Cons
- Its home page told us stocks and prediction markets are not available here
- No SAT registration on file
Read our Coinbase report
Gemini
Best for Spot trading only
6.4/10
Access
3.5/4
Products
1.9/3
Licences
0/2
Our test
1/1
Pros
- Mexico is on its main list of supported countries
Cons
- Mexico is not on its perpetuals list, so derivatives are not offered
- Its Mexico page lists no peso deposits
Read our Gemini report

Prediction markets

Kalshi
Best for Regulated event contracts
8.0/10
Access
4/4
Products
3/3
Licences
0/2
Our test
1/1
Pros
- Mexico is not on its restricted-jurisdictions list
- Its home page loaded in our test
Cons
- No Mexican rule covers prediction markets
Read our Kalshi report
Polymarket
Best for The largest prediction market
8.0/10
Access
4/4
Products
3/3
Licences
0/2
Our test
1/1
Pros
- Mexico is not on its blocked-countries list
- Its home page loaded with no geoblock banner
Cons
- No Mexican rule covers prediction markets
Read our Polymarket report

DeFi

Aster
Best for Perpetuals from your own wallet
8.0/10
Access
4/4
Products
3/3
Licences
0/2
Our test
1/1
Pros
- Mexico is not on its prohibited-jurisdictions list
- Its trading app loaded in our test
Cons
- No SAT registration on file
Read our Aster report
Hyperliquid
Best for Perpetuals and spot on its own chain
8.0/10
Access
4/4
Products
3/3
Licences
0/2
Our test
1/1
Pros
- Not excluded by its terms
- Its trading app loaded in our test
Cons
- No SAT registration on file
Read our Hyperliquid report
Jupiter
Best for Solana swaps
8.0/10
Access
4/4
Products
3/3
Licences
0/2
Our test
1/1
Pros
- Mexico is not named in its terms
- Its app loaded in our test
Cons
- No SAT registration on file
Read our Jupiter report
Lighter
Best for Perpetuals from your own wallet
8.0/10
Access
4/4
Products
3/3
Licences
0/2
Our test
1/1
Pros
- Mexico is not named in its terms
- Its trading app loaded in our test
Cons
- No SAT registration on file
Read our Lighter report
PancakeSwap
Best for BNB Chain swaps and pools
8.0/10
Access
4/4
Products
3/3
Licences
0/2
Our test
1/1
Pros
- Not excluded by its terms
- The swap page loaded in our test
Cons
- No SAT registration on file
Read our PancakeSwap report
Uniswap
Best for Swapping tokens from your own wallet
8.0/10
Access
4/4
Products
3/3
Licences
0/2
Our test
1/1
Pros
- Its terms bar only places under comprehensive US sanctions
- Our test loaded the swap app from a Mexican address
Cons
- No SAT registration on file
Read our Uniswap report

Which platforms block Mexican users?

None of the 22 platforms we track refuses Mexican residents. One is limited, Gemini, and one showed a product notice in our test, Coinbase.

The exchanges that exclude residents elsewhere in the world do not name Mexico: the restricted lists of KuCoin, Gate, MEXC, HTX and the others omit it. Several of those lists are non-exhaustive, so an absence is not a guarantee, and most platforms enforce at identity verification, not at the page. Mexican law gives no reason for a platform to close the country, since individuals may hold crypto.

Platforms with a Mexico caveatPick one to see what we found

Platform	Status	Type	What we found
Gemini	Limited	Exchange	Spot is offered; Mexico is not on its list of countries for perpetuals, so derivatives are not available
Coinbase	Available	Exchange	Mexico is a sign-up country, but its home page told us stocks and prediction markets are not available in our jurisdiction

Source: platform terms and notices, verified 17 October 2026. What each site showed us is in the next section.

What our geo-access test saw from Mexico

From a Mexican address on 14 and 16 October 2026 we loaded all 22 platforms we track: none refused us, 1 showed a notice and 21 loaded with no barrier.

An open page is not permission, and the test cannot see identity checks. The notice was Coinbase’s, which said stocks and prediction markets are not available in our jurisdiction. Kalshi loaded after a browser check, and Bitstamp’s sign-up address returned a 404 error while its home page loaded. Swipe through the screenshots below; each card quotes what the page showed.

Home page of Coinbase loaded from Mexico: Mexico: the home page loads but says stocks and prediction markets are not available here — **What each platform showed us from here**Screenshots from our geo-access test, 14 Oct 2026 and 16 Oct 2026. Scroll sideways or use the arrows.

Who regulates crypto in Mexico?

Banxico keeps banks and fintech institutions away from crypto, the CNBV authorises the fintech institutions, and SAT and the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) police the exchanges under the anti-money-laundering law.

Banxico. Sets what banks and fintech institutions may do with virtual assets through Circular 4/2019, and decides which assets fintech institutions may handle.
CNBV. Authorises and supervises the fintech institutions; its pages do not mention crypto exchanges.
SAT and the UIF. SAT runs the vulnerable-activities portal where exchanges register, and the notices go to the UIF. A user who only buys virtual assets is not an obligated person, says SAT’s FAQ. Dealing in virtual assets requires identification of every client, and a notice is due at 210 UMA, which is MXN 24,635.10 with the UMA at MXN 117.31 from 1 February 2026. A reform published on 16 July 2025 cut the threshold from 645 UMA, according to a law-firm summary; SAT’s pages confirm the 210 UMA figure but we did not read the decree.
Congress. Senator Alejandro Murat presented a bill for peso stablecoins modelled on the US GENIUS Act in early May 2026, per Expansión. We found no committee report or vote.
Segob. The interior ministry’s gaming office covers betting and draws; see the prediction markets section.

Which crypto products are limited in Mexico?

Derivatives are the one product we found closed: Gemini does not offer them to Mexico. Banks and fintech institutions cannot offer crypto services to the public at all, and Coinbase says stocks and prediction markets are unavailable here.

Derivatives. Mexico is not on Gemini’s list of countries for perpetuals. Hyperliquid and Aster load perpetuals in our test and do not exclude Mexico in their terms.
Bank products. Under Circular 4/2019 a bank or fintech institution cannot give clients exchange, transmission or custody of virtual assets, so crypto sits with registered exchanges instead. The 2021 release adds that financial institutions may not offer stablecoin balances from public deposits.
Pesos. Kraken takes MXN deposits by SPEI with no fee but converts them to USD, because MXN cannot be held in a Kraken account. It requires a CURP or RFC and a CLABE account number.
Stocks and prediction markets. Coinbase showed us a notice that both are unavailable in Mexico.

For other platforms we hold no Mexico-specific product source.

Are prediction markets legal in Mexico?

No Mexican rule covers them that we found. Polymarket and Kalshi accept Mexican users on their own terms, but the gaming law requires a permit for bets and draws and Segob announced a reform on 3 September 2026.

Segob’s gaming office says bets and draws need an express Segob permit under the Federal Gaming and Draws Law of 1947. We could not open the statute, and the law does not mention prediction markets, according to commercial summaries. We found no Segob, UIF or CNBV statement or block order naming Polymarket or Kalshi.

On 3 September 2026 the interior secretary announced a proposal to update the law, which still needs security-cabinet approval before it goes to the legislature, according to Infobae. The same report says the gaming office suspended 10 online casino domains in July 2026, which shows it can act against online operators. Until a rule or an order says otherwise, whether an event contract counts as a bet is unsettled.

How is crypto taxed in Mexico?

There is no crypto-specific tax: a sale is treated like the sale of goods and the gain joins your income, taxed on the annual table of 1.92% to 35%. The buyer is expected to withhold a 20% provisional payment.

We could not open the tax statutes (diputados.gob.mx refused our connection), so these points come from tax advisers and not from the law. Forvis Mazars says the income tax, VAT and federal tax code contain no crypto-specific provisions, treats disposals as sales of goods, and describes a 20% provisional payment on the transaction amount that is adjusted in the annual return. Veritas adds that the buyer withholds it under article 126 of the income tax law, or the seller pays within 15 days if the buyer cannot, and that the gain is the price less an inflation-adjusted cost. Habitual trading is taxed as business income on net profit.

The rates are the marginal rates of the annual table for individuals, which ContadorMX reproduces for 2026: 1.92% on the first band from MXN 0.01, rising to 35% from MXN 5,107,703.93. The 2026 update factor is published in Annex 8 of the tax resolution, and we did not check every band limit against it. We read the main text of the 2026 tax resolution and it does not mention virtual assets or the OECD Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), though we did not read its annexes. Forvis Mazars says Mexico expects to join the CARF system fully from 2027; we found no domestic law for it. We could not confirm how VAT applies, whether losses offset gains, or any holding-period rule.

Working out your crypto tax in MexicoFor an individual, as tax advisers describe it

Step	Detail
Treat each sale as a sale of goods	Swapping or selling counts as a disposal; there is no crypto-specific regime
Work out the gain	Sale price less your cost, with the cost adjusted for inflation
Expect a 20% provisional payment	The buyer withholds it, or you pay within 15 days if the buyer cannot
Settle in the annual return	The gain joins your income on the annual table; habitual traders report business income

Source: Forvis Mazars, Veritas, ContadorMX, checked 17 October 2026.

Sources: Banco de México (1: Banxico, SHCP and CNBV joint release on virtual assets (28 June 2021), 2: Circular 4/2019 on virtual-asset operations by credit institutions and fintech institutions (DOF 8 March 2019)), CNBV: Fintech institutions (ITF): authorisation by the CNBV (page of 10 February 2026), SAT (1: Vulnerable activities: frequently asked questions 2026, 2: SPPLD: identification and notice thresholds by vulnerable activity), IDC Online: LFPIORPI: new obligations after the reform published on 16 July 2025, Expansión: Mexico copies the US GENIUS Act for stablecoins (16 June 2026), Segob: Dirección General de Juegos y Sorteos, Infobae: Segob moves against money laundering in casinos and betting centres and will amend the federal gaming law (3 September 2026), DOF: Resolución Miscelánea Fiscal para 2026 (28 December 2025), ContadorMX: ISR tables 2026 for individuals, Forvis Mazars: Taxation of crypto-assets in Mexico, Veritas: Regulation of virtual assets in Mexico (14 October 2024), Binance: Licenses, registrations and other legal matters, Bitget: Global regulatory compliance roadmap, Kraken: How to deposit MXN (updated 8 October 2026), Gemini (1: Areas of availability, 2: Eligibility requirements for trading perpetuals (updated 16 September 2026)), checked 17 Oct 2026.

Platform availability

Explore which exchanges and prediction markets are available in Mexico.

Platform	Type	Spot	Derivatives	Staking	Status	Last verified
Aster	DeFi	Available	Available	Available	Available	17 Oct 2026
Binance	Exchange	Available	Available	Available	Available	28 Sep 2026
Bitfinex	Exchange	Available	Available	Available	Available	17 Oct 2026
Bitget	Exchange	Available	Available	–	Available	16 Oct 2026
Bitstamp	Exchange	Available	Available	Available	Available	17 Oct 2026
Bybit	Exchange	Available	Available	Available	Available	16 Oct 2026
Coinbase	Exchange	Available	Available	Available	Available	17 Oct 2026
Crypto.com	Exchange	Available	Available	–	Available	17 Oct 2026
Gate	Exchange	Available	Available	–	Available	17 Oct 2026
Gemini	Exchange	Available	Restricted	Limited	Limited	17 Oct 2026
HTX	Exchange	Available	Available	Available	Available	17 Oct 2026
Hyperliquid	DeFi	Available	Available	Available	Available	17 Oct 2026
Jupiter	DeFi	Available	Available	Available	Available	17 Oct 2026
Kalshi	Prediction market	–	–	–	Available	17 Oct 2026
Kraken	Exchange	Available	Available	Available	Available	17 Oct 2026
KuCoin	Exchange	Available	Available	–	Available	17 Oct 2026
Lighter	DeFi	Available	Available	Available	Available	17 Oct 2026
MEXC	Exchange	Available	Available	–	Available	17 Oct 2026
OKX	Exchange	Available	Available	Available	Available	16 Oct 2026
PancakeSwap	DeFi	Available	Available	Available	Available	17 Oct 2026
Polymarket	Prediction market	–	–	–	Available	17 Oct 2026
Uniswap	DeFi	Available	–	–	Available	17 Oct 2026