Panama Eyes Bitcoin & Crypto to Spark Tech Investment
Bitcoin (BTC) and crypto adoption on a state level may soon extend beyond El Salvador, with politicians elsewhere in the Americas – and even one European royal – mulling moves that could see the cryptocurrency brought into their financial systems in some form or other.
Per Bloomberg, support in the private sector and banking communities is growing for a measure proposed last year by Gabriel Silva, a 32-year-old Panamanian congressman. In 2021, Silva – an independent – brought forward a private member’s bill named “Crypto Law: Making Panama compatible with the digital economy, blockchain, cryptoassets, and the internet.”
At the time, Silva stated that the measure, if adopted, would bring “legal, regulatory, and fiscal certainty to the use, holding and issuance of digital value and cryptoassets” in Panama.
Silva claims that his bill, which is slated to be debated in the Panamanian congress, could allow the country to boost job creation, attract investors, and promote governmental transparency.
The head of the Panama Savings Fund and an independent financial advisor, José Abbo, claimed that Panama was “lagging behind” other nations “in terms of the implementation of cryptocurrencies, in their use and in the economy.”
However, the bill appears to differ significantly from the more bullish approach of El Salvador. While it would give bitcoin and other coins a proper legal footing, it would not seek to make BTC legal tender, as is the case in El Salvador.
Abbo was quoted as explaining:
“In El Salvador, a [state-run] digital wallet was created, but that is not the plan here.”
The bill instead specifies that “all natural and legal persons” can use cryptoassets as a legal means of payment in all “civil or commercial” transactions.
Abbo
Read more on cryptonews.com
