Main to remember
- Panama City now accepts bitcoin, ether and stablecoins to pay taxes and costs.
- Cryptographic payments are converted to USD by a partner bank because government institutions require transactions in USD.
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Residents of Panama City can now pay taxes, fees, tickets and permits using Bitcoin, ether and stablecoins following a vote of the municipal council this week, as announced by Mayer Mizrachi Matalon on X.
Matalon said the approval made the capital and the largest city of Panama the country’s first public institution – and one of the first on a global scale – to adopt digital assets for government transactions.
Initially, the initiative will focus on the two main cryptographic assets alongside Stablecoins USDT and USDC, he added.
🇵🇦 The Panama City Council has just passed in favor of becoming the first public institution of the government to accept payments in crypto.
Citizens will now be able to pay taxes, costs, tickets and permits entirely in crypto, starting with BTC, ETH, USDC, USDT@Apompliano @Aantonop…
– Mayer Mizrachi (@mayer) April 15, 2025
The mayor of Panama said it would be implemented through a partnership with a bank that converts cryptographic payments to dollars at the time of the transaction, because public institutions are legally required to receive funds in dollars.
“This allows the free movement of crypto throughout the economy and the whole government,” said Matalon.
This decision comes while the Panama National Assembly considers broader legislation to establish a regulatory framework for cryptographic assets and promote the country’s digital economy.
Earlier this year, the Panamanian government unveiled a bill to legalize voluntary cryptography payments and regulate the virtual asset industry.
The proposed law would create surveillance organizations, including the National Council for Digital Assets (CONAD), to coordinate the settlement and supervision of cryptographic assets in Panama.
The legislation also suggests establishing a legal framework for the use of crypto in commercial and civil transactions, establishes compliance standards for virtual asset service providers (VSAP) and encourages the integration of blockchain technology in governance, digital identity systems and intelligent contracts.
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