Ricardo Salinas Pliego – 3rd most wealthy Mexican billionaire – has reportedly made an additional pro-Bitcoin initiative, with plans down the pipeline to set up the first Bitcoin-friendly bank locally. 

Specifically, On June 27, the Mexican billionaire reportedly took to Twitter to share how he throws his weight behind the broad Bitcoin adoption, noting that his bank is “working” towards becoming a pioneering entity in the local banking sector to facilitate the well-known crypto asset. 

The remarks were reportedly made after Salinas previously majorly endorsed Bitcoin, believing that it was “absolutely right” to assume Bitcoin can be the new gold. 

Salinas is reportedly the founder and chairman of Grupo Salinas – a Mexico-based corporate conglomerate, with a wide range of entities in different sectors under its scope – television and radio network TV Azteca, consumer electronics retailer Grupo Elektra, football club Mazatlan F.C., and a major local bank, Banco Azteca.

Per insights from Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Salinas’s assets have climbed up to $2.8 billion in 2021, reaching $15.8 billion.

It was further revealed that Salinas disclosed a 10% investment of his liquid portfolio into Bitcoin in 2020. The billionaire has then announced his great respect for the digital coin in numerous situations, including an interview with Cointelegraph at the start of this year. 

Banco Azteca – clocking in a yearly revenue of $2.54 billion last year – reportedly has local branches in Mexico, Panama, Guatemala, Honduras, and Peru. The firm, which started to operate the bank in 2002, provides consumer credit offerings dedicated to goods, personal and small business loans, credit cards, mortgages, and payroll systems.