[DigitalToday reporter Jinju Hong (홍진주)] Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas again highlighted bitcoin as a way to protect assets from inflation in fiat currencies.

Bitcoin Magazine reported on Tuesday that Salinas, in a video posted on X, described fiat inflation as a "hidden tax" and argued that people should buy and hold bitcoin to protect their savings.

Salinas previously served as chairman of home appliance and electronics retailer Grupo Elektra and is also known as the founder of Banco Azteca. In the video, he stressed the need to protect savings by moving away from the existing currency system. He said bitcoin changes one fundamental rule and cited as a key feature that it cannot be printed just because someone wants to.

He went on to criticise structural problems in the current fiat system. Salinas said people have to work to earn more money, but the monetary system can create additional new money. He said, "Don’t be fooled, learn, protect your savings, and defend your freedom," and added, "Buy and hold bitcoin."

Salinas has not been promoting bitcoin for the first time. On X, where he has millions of followers, he has continuously criticised government monetary policy and central bank issuance. Beyond tweets, he has kept up his criticism of fiat currencies and support for bitcoin through interviews, conference keynote speeches and video messages.

He has also said recently that he significantly increased bitcoin’s weight in his investment portfolio. Salinas claimed that earlier this year he expanded the bitcoin share to 70 percent from 10 percent. He has also repeatedly stressed that distrust in central bank monetary policy is a major backdrop to the investment decision.

He also strongly criticised the traditional fiat system at the "Bitcoin 2022" event held in 2022. At the time, he called it a "fiat scam" and claimed the Federal Reserve was issuing excessive amounts of currency.

Salinas has consistently argued that central bank monetary expansion can damage the value of money and individual savings. He has accordingly presented bitcoin as a scarce asset outside the control of central authorities and as a way to respond to inflation.

He has also said he tried to spread bitcoin on a personal level. Salinas said he has recommended bitcoin to acquaintances and family members, and in one interview he said he persuaded his wife to take out a loan secured by a home and buy bitcoin.

His latest remarks also focus on structural problems in the fiat system and preserving the value of savings rather than on bitcoin’s short-term price outlook. In particular, whenever concerns grow that central bank issuance could erode the value of money, the market narrative of viewing bitcoin as an inflation hedge is again gaining prominence.

Salinas is expected to continue delivering messages that criticise central bank monetary policy and the fiat system while emphasising preserving assets through bitcoin.

When you work, you trade your time (your life) for money. But when governments create money at will and dilute its value, they steal the time you sacrificed to earn it. Fiat inflation is a hidden tax. Don’t be fooled: learn, protect your savings, and defend your freedom, buy… pic.twitter.com/1l8ZtoFCaA