The crypto bill focusing on regulating the commercialization and use of crypto-assets as payment systems in Panama was approved in the Panamanian Legislative Assembly’s third debate.
In Brief:
- The bill is intended to make crypto a valid form of payment for inter alia, payment of taxes, fees, & duties to the govt.
- Some of the enlisted cryptos are BTC, ETH, XRP, LTC, XDC, EGLD, XLM, IOTA, and ALGO.
- The mix of two law projects 696 & 697 is also expected to regulate the use of tokenized precious metals within the territory.
The Central American country renowned as a hub of offshore financial services is on its way to passing a pro-crypto law titled, “Law that regulates the commercialization and use of crypto assets, the issuance of digital value, the tokenization of precious metals and other goods, payment systems and other provisions.”
The bill was approved at the third and final session after which Panamanian President Laurentino Cortizo can veto or sign the law, Congressperson Gabriel Silva broke the news on Twitter.
The Panama crypto law reportedly aims to “help Panama become a hub of innovation and technology in Latin America”. Crypto will be a valid method of payment for any legal civil or commercial operation, including the payment of taxes, fees, and duties to the government, if the bill is approved into law.
The listed cryptocurrencies include Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), XRP, Litecoin (LTC), XDC Network (XDC), Elrond (EGLD), Stellar (XLM), IOTA, and Algorand (ALGO).
The law aims to promote “the use of distributed ledger technology and blockchain in the digitalization of the identity of natural and legal persons in or from the Republic of Panama and as a means to make the public function transparent.”
Panama is also taking a giant step by regulating and bringing clarity to the use of tokenized precious metals within the territory as a means of savings, payment for goods/services, and taxes within the national territory.
The proposed crypto law includes definitions and concepts about crypto, blockchain technology, and the implementation of these decentralized tools to simplify state affairs. This approved project comes as an amalgamation of two different proposals presented as law projects 696 and 697.
The bill is also aiming for promoting banking interoperability for financial inclusion and bringing synergies between traditional banking as well as new technologies so as to not clash them together.
It’s unclear if the crypto law would lead Panama to accept BTC or other cryptos as legal tender like El Salvador which announced the recognition of Bitcoin as legal tender last year.
However, a few days ago The Crypto Times reported that the Central African Republic (CAF) became the first African country to adopt Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender in order to restore the country’s economy.
