Panama City has adopted crypto-based tax payments following a city council vote this week, signaling growing momentum for integrating digital assets into public services. Panama joins a growing list of jurisdictions globally that have voted to accept such payments.
Crypto As Payment For Public Services
Panama City is now accepting cryptocurrencies as a form of payment for certain services.
Mayor Mayer Mizrachi Matalon announced on Wednesday in an X post that residents can pay their municipal taxes, fees, parking tickets, and permits using a handful of cryptocurrencies through an escrow-like system. The mayor confirmed that the system will initially support Bitcoin and Ethereum, alongside stablecoins USDT and USDC.
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@APompliano @aantonop…
— Mayer Mizrachi (@Mayer) April 15, 2025
He indicated that the move positions Panama Council as the first public institution in the country — and one of the first worldwide — to accept digital assets for government transactions.
Mizrachi said the Panamanian capital implemented the policy without introducing new legislation. “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,” he posited.
In order to facilitate crypto payments to its local government offices, Panama City will partner with local banks equipped to receive digital assets and convert them to US dollars to allow “for the free flow of crypto in the entire economy and the entire government,” Mizrachi explained.
Growing Crypto Adoption
Panama City’s pro-crypto push comes amid increasing global adoption of crypto assets as mediums of exchange.
El Salvador became the world’s first country in 2021 to accept Bitcoin as legal tender, with the Central African Republic following roughly a year later. Other countries like Brazil and Tonga have also mulled adopting the benchmark crypto as an official currency.
In the United States, several states, including Colorado, North Carolina, and Detroit, already accept crypto for tax and fee payments.
