Panama Moves Forward With Crypto Regulation Bill

Panama passes crypto legislation that is more robust than El Salvador’s digital asset measures, lawmaker says

article-image

Source: Shutterstock

share

key takeaways

  • If Panama’s president approves the project, citizens will be able to use crypto for everyday purchases and tax payments
  • The law aims to promote “the use of distributed ledger technology” in government to improve transparency

Panama became the latest country to move forward with cryptocurrency legislation Thursday when the National Assembly passed a bill that will allow for private and public use of digital assets.

If the proposal is signed into law by Panamanian President Laurentino Cortizo, citizens will also be able to pay taxes using cryptocurrencies, the National Assembly said.  

“This bill seeks for Panama to become a hub of technology innovation in Latin America,” Gabriel Silva, a member of the National Assembly and one of the lawmakers promoting the bill, said during a local news interview Thursday. 

The project, if passed, will allow Panamanian to buy goods and services in cryptocurrencies at any legally operated civil or commercial business.

The project goes beyond regulating individual tokens, Silva said, aiming to provide a broader scope than El Salvador’s bitcoin as legal tender measure that was passed in September. 

The law aims to promote “the use of distributed ledger technology and blockchain in the digitalization of the identity of natural and legal persons in or from the Republic of Panama and as a means to make the public function transparent,” a translated version of the project read.

The news comes a day after the Central African Republic became the second country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender. The African nation has also been working on creating a legal framework around the use of cryptocurrencies that will focus on defining how citizens can interact with digital assets, Finance Minister Herve Ndoba said, according to a Bloomberg report.

Nboda added that the Central African Republic is not trying to mimic El Salvador, which became the first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender in September 2021.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Research Report Templates (1).jpg

Research

Jupiter has emerged as the undisputed liquidity backbone of Solana, commanding over 90% of spot DEX aggregation and 80% of perp trading volume. But behind the numbers lies a far more ambitious play: a cross-chain, vertically integrated super-app spanning swaps, synthetics, NFTs, memecoins, and launchpads. This report explores Jupiter’s rapid rise, the monetization upgrades reshaping its revenue profile, and the risks that could unwind its dominance, from token dilution to competition. With annualized revenues nearing $300M, the upside is undeniable, if it can navigate the turbulence.

article-image

Immutable has been building a game with Ubisoft that was slated to unveil in April. It may be a TCG.

article-image

Curve founder Michael Egorov is working on a new protocol designed to eliminate impermanent loss, rethink token emissions, and capture BTC-native yield

article-image

Mining outfits have gone bust in the wake of prior halvings. Not so this time around.

article-image

Zora’s announcement that its token is for “fun only” sparked a debate about the need for such tokens

article-image

In recent weeks, Helium has hit new all-time highs while passing major protocol milestones

article-image

Financial advisers in a January survey said equity ETFs were their top choice for gaining crypto exposure in 2025