How to Buy Bitcoin in Mexico (SPEI, 2026)

You can buy Bitcoin in Mexico in about 20 minutes: create a Binance account, verify your identity with your INE, open a Medá account, send pesos by SPEI, and place a BTC/MXN order. The peso deposit is free from Binance and is usually credited within 30 minutes.

The part that confuses first-time buyers is that two separate checks are involved. Binance’s standard KYC uses your INE, passport, or driver’s licence. The SPEI deposit route then asks for CURP verification and a Medá account — Medá is Binance’s Mexican electronic payment fund institution, supervised by the CNBV.

This guide walks through both checks, the real fees, and the failures that most often stop a first peso deposit.

⚠️ The most important thing first: don’t tap Sign Up directly in the app — you’ll miss the new-user rewards. The welcome benefits only apply when you register through an invite link or enter the referral code BN2688. Remember this.

💡 Don't have a Binance account yet? Sign up now — 20% fee rebate on spot and futures — enter the referral code BN2688.

What makes buying Bitcoin in Mexico different in 2026?

Mexico has a direct peso on-ramp now: Binance deposits MXN by SPEI through Medá, instead of making users buy USDT on another exchange first.

Before Medá launched on 1 September 2025, most Mexican users had no direct peso funding route on Binance. The common workaround was to send pesos by SPEI to Bitso, buy USDT, and transfer the stablecoin to Binance — three steps, two platforms, and two sets of fees.

Medá changed that. It is an Institución de Fondos de Pago Electrónico (IFPE), a licence created by Mexico’s 2018 Fintech Law and supervised by the Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores (CNBV). Binance says it plans to invest more than 1 billion pesos (about US$53 million) in Medá over four years.

For a beginner, the practical effect is simple:

• You get a CLABE in your name for SPEI transfers, shown inside the Binance app.
• Deposits are credited inside Binance, usually within 30 minutes.
• You skip the Bitso-to-Binance stablecoin transfer and its extra fee.
• Medá is a separate legal entity with its own team, not just a menu inside Binance.

Two limits are worth knowing. First, the Medá route depends on your account and your CURP record; if the Deposit MXN option is missing, the app will show the funding methods enabled for you. Second, Medá handles the peso rail, not the trading — your BTC still sits in your Binance account, and the usual exchange risks apply.

What do you need before you start?

You need an INE, a CURP, a Mexican bank account in your own name, and the Binance app.

The name match matters as much in Mexico as anywhere. If the bank account is in a relative’s name or a business account, the deposit can be rejected or held for review. Use a personal account that carries the same name as your INE and CURP.

You must also be at least 18 and invest only money you can afford to lose. Bitcoin can fall sharply and stay down for years; a 20-minute purchase does not change that.

Step 1: Create your Binance account with the invite code

Register through an invite link so the Referral ID field is filled automatically. The code is applied at sign-up, and in most cases it cannot be added to an existing account later.

• Use an email or phone number you control. Email is easier to recover if you lose the phone.
• Set a strong, unique password. Use a password manager rather than reusing a bank or social-media password.
• Check the Referral ID field before submitting. If it is empty, enter the code now.

The code links your account to the referrer and can return part of your trading fee as a rebate. On this site the code is BN2688, and the configured rebate is 20% of spot and futures fees. Using it costs nothing and does not change Binance’s base fee.

For the full walkthrough, see how to create a Binance account and how the referral code works.

Step 2: Verify your identity with INE, passport, or licence

KYC is mandatory before you can deposit, trade, or withdraw. Binance accepts a Mexican INE, a passport, or a driver’s licence, plus a selfie.

1. Open the verification section and select Mexico.
2. Choose your document type and photograph both sides of the INE. All four corners must be visible, with no glare and no fingers over the text.
3. Enter your personal details exactly as they appear on the document.
4. Complete the liveness check in a well-lit room, following the on-screen prompts.

Most checks are reviewed within minutes to a few hours; Binance’s official guidance allows up to 48 hours during peak periods. Rejections are usually caused by a cropped photo, a reflection on the plastic, an expired document, or a name that does not match the record. Fix the photo and resubmit rather than creating a second account.

Our Binance KYC guide explains the document rules in more detail.

Step 3: Turn on two-factor authentication before you deposit

Set up 2FA before any pesos enter the account. An exchange account protected only by a password is one phishing page away from being emptied.

• Use an authenticator app, not SMS. SMS codes can be intercepted through SIM-swap fraud.
• Add a passkey if your phone supports it; it is a stronger second factor than a six-digit code.
• Set an anti-phishing code so you can tell genuine Binance emails from fakes.
• Enable a withdrawal address whitelist so funds can only leave to addresses you have approved.

These settings take about five minutes. Our account security guide walks through each one.

Step 4: Open a Medá account and deposit pesos by SPEI

The MXN deposit route has two parts: a one-time setup of the Medá account, then a normal SPEI transfer each time you want to add pesos.

The flow, as Binance documents it in November 2026:

1. Open Add Funds, then Deposit MXN.
2. Choose Bank Transfer (SPEI).
3. Complete CURP verification if prompted. This is required before you can continue.
4. If you do not have a Medá account, tap Create a Medá account and follow the prompts.
5. Binance shows the details of your individual Medá account, including the CLABE. Copy them.
6. Send the pesos from your Mexican bank app using SPEI.
7. Return to Binance, tap I’ve sent the funds, and wait for the balance to update.

Binance says the deposit should be processed within 30 minutes. You can check the status under Orders → Deposits → Cash.

Practical details that save time:

• Send from an account in your own name. A transfer from a friend’s or employer’s account can be held.
• Use the CLABE shown in the app at that moment. Old guides with fixed bank details are a common source of lost transfers.
• Start with a small test deposit, such as 500 pesos, before sending a larger amount.
• Keep the SPEI receipt until the balance appears; it is what support will ask for if something goes wrong.

If Deposit MXN is not available on your account, the alternatives are a card purchase (usually 3% to 5% more expensive), Binance P2P with a verified merchant, or a local exchange such as Bitso for the peso on-ramp and then a USDT transfer.

Step 5: Buy Bitcoin on the BTC/MXN market

Binance offers two ways to buy, and they cost different amounts.

For a first purchase, Convert is simpler. For anything above a few thousand pesos, the spot market is usually cheaper because the fee is explicit and you can see the real order-book price.

To buy on spot:

1. Search for BTC/MXN and open the pair.
2. Choose Limit to name your price, or Market to buy now.
3. Enter the amount in pesos, not in BTC, to avoid a decimal mistake.
4. Review the estimated quantity and fee before confirming.
5. Confirm and check that the BTC appears in your spot wallet.

MXN pairs are thinner than USDT pairs. A large market order can move the price against you, so use a limit order for anything sizeable, and check the spread before you click buy.

Step 6: Move long-term holdings to your own wallet

Coins on an exchange are in the exchange’s custody. That is acceptable for a trading balance, but long-term holdings belong in a wallet you control.

• Keep a small trading balance on Binance if you buy and sell regularly.
• Withdraw larger holdings to a hardware wallet, with the seed phrase stored offline — paper or metal, never a photo or a cloud note.
• Test with a small amount first, confirm it arrives, then send the rest.

Our guides to hardware wallets and storing crypto safely cover the setup. When you withdraw BTC, choose the Bitcoin network and double-check the address; a wrong address cannot be reversed.

How much does it cost to buy Bitcoin in Mexico?

A SPEI purchase on Binance costs the trading fee plus the spread; the peso deposit itself is free from Binance.

A worked example: you deposit MXN 10,000 by SPEI and buy BTC on the spot market.

• Trading fee at 0.10%: MXN 10.
• With the BNB discount at 0.075%: MXN 7.50.
• With the 20% rebate on the fee: about MXN 1.50 returned, so the net fee is roughly MXN 6.
• SPEI deposit: MXN 0 from Binance.
• All-in cost: about 0.06% of the purchase.

On the same MXN 10,000, a card purchase at 3.5% would cost MXN 350 — more than 50 times the SPEI route. That difference is usually the largest avoidable cost for a Mexican beginner.

Is buying Bitcoin legal in Mexico?

Yes. Individuals can legally buy, hold, and sell crypto in Mexico, but crypto is not legal tender and the institutions that handle it are regulated.

The 2018 Fintech Law created the framework for IFPEs such as Medá and for the exchanges that custody crypto. The CNBV supervises those institutions, and anti-money-laundering rules require customer identification and reporting above certain thresholds. Banxico, Mexico’s central bank, does not allow banks to offer crypto directly, which is why the peso on-ramp runs through licensed payment institutions rather than your bank’s app.

Tax is separate from legality. Mexico has no dedicated crypto tax law, so gains on disposal fall under the general enajenación de bienes rules in the income tax law. For individuals, that means progressive ISR rates of up to 35%, and a provisional payment may apply at the time of sale. Swapping one crypto for another can also be treated as a taxable exchange, even if you never withdraw pesos.

Keep a record of every purchase, sale, and swap, including dates, amounts, and fees. The annual return is due on 30 April, and exchanges increasingly report account data to the tax authority. Our crypto taxes guide explains the general principles; confirm your own position with a Mexican accountant.

Common problems and fixes

The two failures that cost the most time are the CURP mismatch and a sender name that does not match the account. Check both before sending a large deposit.

Binance vs Bitso

Binance is not the only way to buy Bitcoin in Mexico, and Bitso is the best-known local alternative.

The decision rule is simple. If you want the lowest trading fee and access to a global order book, Binance wins — especially for larger amounts. If you want the simplest peso experience and a local company with Mexican support, Bitso is the safer default, at a higher fee. Many people use Bitso to move pesos and Binance to trade.

Whichever you choose, verify the provider’s current regulatory status and the fee shown in the app before depositing a large amount. Rules and product availability change quickly in Mexico.

Conclusion

Buying Bitcoin in Mexico takes about 20 minutes: register with an invite code, verify with your INE, open the Medá account and verify your CURP, send pesos by SPEI, and buy BTC/MXN. The SPEI route is free from Binance and far cheaper than a card, and the effective spot fee with the invite rebate is about 0.06%.

Before you start, confirm three things: the bank account is in your name, your CURP details match, and you are buying only what you can afford to lose. Then follow the Binance registration guide step by step, and move any long-term holding to a wallet you control.

Not investment advice. Bitcoin is volatile and you can lose money. This guide explains how the purchase works, not whether you should buy.