Bitcoin for Speedy Panama Canal Passage? Mayor Pitches Crypto Perk

Hold onto your hats, crypto fans! Panama City's mayor, Mayer Mizrachi, just dropped a bombshell at Bitcoin 2025 in Vegas. He's floating the idea of letting ships pay in Bitcoin for a VIP pass through the Panama Canal!

Picture this: You're at a panel in the electric atmosphere of Bitcoin 2025, and Mizrachi's voice booms through the crowd. He's suggesting that if cargo ships cough up Bitcoin, they could zip through the canal faster than you can say "blockchain."

“We've got this canal, right? So what if you get a sweet perk for paying in Bitcoin? Your ship could zoom through quicker!” Mizrachi exclaimed, his passion for crypto shining bright.

Now, let's talk numbers. The Panama Canal isn't just any waterway; it's a global trade beast, connecting the Caribbean and Pacific Oceans. From October 2023 to September 2024, it saw nearly 10,000 ship transits, handling around 5% of the world's maritime commerce. That's no small potatoes!

And get this: during that period, Panama raked in a cool $5 billion in canal revenue, with over 423 million tons of cargo moving through. Talk about a powerhouse!

But Mizrachi isn't stopping there. He's been pushing hard for Bitcoin and other cryptos in public services and even wants to set up a Bitcoin reserve for Panama City, which cranks out over half of the country's GDP. This guy's all in on crypto!

On stage, he didn't hold back, urging lawmakers to keep their hands off the crypto sector. “Don't touch it, don't get near it, don't even look at it! Let it operate, let it function,” he warned, slamming overregulation as a buzzkill for innovation.

Earlier this year, Panama City upped its crypto game, letting residents pay municipal taxes, fines, and permits with Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDC, and Tether. How cool is that?

To keep things above board, they teamed up with a bank that instantly converts those crypto payments to good ol' U.S. dollars. This way, public institutions get their cash in fiat without messing with digital assets directly.

“This opens the floodgates for crypto to flow freely in our entire economy and government,” Mizrachi posted, clearly stoked about the move.

Now, unlike El Salvador's all-in approach to Bitcoin, Panama City's model is more of a "take it or leave it" deal, designed to play nice with the existing financial system.

Panama Revisits Crypto Stance

On a national level, Panama's been a bit more cautious about crypto, but they're warming up to it. Back in May 2022, former President Laurentino Cortizo nixed a crypto bill, worried about weak anti-money laundering measures.

At the time, some folks were freaking out, saying unregulated crypto could mess with Panama's rep. The country was on the FATF grey list, under the microscope for its past as a tax haven and the risks of its dollarized economy to shady finance.

But guess what? Panama's now taking a more structured approach. In March 2025, they rolled out a new draft bill to regulate digital assets while staying in line with global financial standards.

This bill's got some serious mojo. It's looking to give crypto the legal nod as a payment option with mutual consent, slap licenses on service providers, and make sure everyone's playing by the AML and KYC rules. Plus, it's pushing for blockchain in public services and recognizing smart contracts as legit. Panama's clearly stepping up its crypto game!