The City Council of Panama City has officially approved the option to make payments in cryptocurrency. This decision was made possible through a partnership with a bank that processes crypto transactions, making Panama City one of the first municipalities in the world to implement such a practice.
This is reported by Business • Media
The World’s First City Government to Accept Cryptocurrency
City Council member Mayer Mizrachi reported that the city council voted to legalize the payment of taxes and other municipal fees in cryptocurrency. According to him, this makes Panama City the first government institution in the world to allow such payments at the governmental level.
Under the new rules, citizens can pay taxes, fines, permit fees, and other municipal payments using cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), as well as stablecoins USDC and USDT. Although the law requires government institutions to accept payments in US dollars, the city has found a legal way to implement crypto payments.
“We found a simple way to do this without new laws. We are working with a bank that accepts cryptocurrency and instantly converts it into dollars,” explained Mizrachi.
Conversion Mechanism and Economic Opportunities
Mizrachi emphasized that technically all payments are received in dollar equivalents. This allows bypassing the need for new legislation and creates conditions for the free circulation of cryptocurrency in the public sector and the economy as a whole. He also noted that previous administrations did not support the bill to legalize crypto payments in the Senate, but the current decision is more flexible and legal.
It is worth noting that similar initiatives are already being considered in New York and North Carolina, indicating global trends towards the integration of cryptocurrency into the public sector.