In yet another milestone for Bitcoin adoption in Latin America, the Panama City Council has voted to approve the acceptance of Bitcoin and other digital currencies for municipal services, making it the first public institution in the country to do so.
The news was announced by Panama City Mayor Mayer Mizrachi on X (formerly Twitter), who stated:
“Panama City council has just voted in favor of becoming the first public institution of government to accept payments in Crypto. Citizens will now be able to pay taxes, fees, tickets and permits entirely in crypto starting with BTC, ETH, USDC, USDT.”
This decision sets Panama City on a more progressive path, enabling residents to interact with their local government using Bitcoin for everyday transactions. Mizrachi also explained how this was achieved without the need for new legislation, a hurdle that had stalled previous efforts.
“Prior administrations tried to push a bill in the senate to make this possible, but we found a simple way to do it without new legislation. Legally, public institutions must receive funds in $, so we partner with a bank who will take care of the transaction—receiving in crypto and convert on spot to $. This allows for the free flow of crypto in the entire economy and entire government.”
The Panama City Mayor’s Office further confirmed the news on its official social media channels, saying:
“We will soon become the first public institution in the country to allow payment for municipal services in cryptocurrency, through an authorized bank that will be responsible for converting the proceeds into dollars for the Mayor’s Office.”
Mayor Mizrachi also revealed that the agreement with the banking partner will be finalized next week:
“Deal’s being signed next week at the Blockchain conf in Panama. Look out for signing of the deal next week.”
