Panama learning from El Salvador? Mayor Mizrachi: Open BTC tax payments, state-owned bank will promote BTC accounts and trading services

Since El Salvador announced in 2021 that it would recognize Bitcoin as legal tender, the national reserves of Bitcoin have taken on a certain form. During the Bitcoin 2025 conference held on May 29, prominent U.S. financial commentators and El Salvador's Bitcoin advisors Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert, the founder of the Bitcoin Beach project Mike Peterson, and the young mayor of Panama City Mayer Mizrachi, discussed whether Panama would become the next El Salvador.

El Salvador is the first to adopt BTC as a national fiat, and Panama is expected to follow.

Bitcoin Beach (Bitcoin Beach) founder Peterson opened by stating that in 2021, when El Salvador's president Bukele (Bukele) announced that Bitcoin (BTC) would be adopted as fiat, everyone was shocked.

He also pointed out that in 2022, someone claimed that three countries were going to follow suit, but in the end, it all fell through, leaving many feeling like it was a rug pull (Rug Pull). Now he believes the situation is completely different; Bitcoin is actually being implemented in various places across Central and South America, especially in Panama.

Mayor Mizrachi stated that he has started using BTC to pay taxes, and the canal tolls will also adopt BTC.

Mayer Mizrachi, the mayor of Panama City, stated that he was originally an entrepreneur specializing in the field of secure communications in the cryptocurrency space, and he is not unfamiliar with the concept of "public and private keys." He has been paying attention to the developments in El Salvador since 2021, and he said:

"Currently, Panama has passed a city council bill allowing citizens to pay taxes and municipal fees with BTC."

Although Bitcoin is not fiat in Panama, they have successfully enabled the city government to accept Bitcoin payments through the mechanism of payment processors, with the actual receipts being in USD. This model does not require changes to national laws, allowing municipal units to promote it independently, and it has attracted mayors from other Latin American cities to seek advice. Mizrachi further revealed:

"We are even thinking, if the Panama Canal toll is paid with BTC, could it speed up the passage?"

Max & Stacy share their experiences in El Salvador, and legislation to eliminate shitcoins is true freedom.

Max Keiser, as an advisor for El Salvador's Bitcoin, joked that he is the "biological father" of Bitcoin, while Stacy Herbert, also an advisor, added that she had talked about Bitcoin in the media as early as 2010.

The picture shows Herbert and Kesier discussing Bitcoin in 2010.

She emphasized that the key to El Salvador's success is not just promoting Bitcoin, but rather:

Establish a Bitcoin office to report directly to the president.

Through the bill, it is explicitly stated that other cryptocurrencies, apart from Bitcoin, are unregistered securities.

Block 90% of the scammers trying to sell shit coins.

El Salvador teaches 7-year-olds about Bitcoin and educates them to take root from an early age

Herbert also mentioned another key point: "Bitcoin education is not just about technology, but also about mindset training." They are promoting the Kubo+ project to help young students learn programming and understand Bitcoin, and more importantly:

"Learn what Proof of Work is, learn to be responsible for yourself."

They also collaborated with German creator Lina Seiche to launch "The Little Holder" financial literacy education book, teaching 7-year-old children about what money and Bitcoin are. This year, they will also introduce this set of teaching materials to the Panama City Public Library.

Panama Bank will launch BTC account and trading services.

Panama City Mayor Mizrachi pointed out:

In Panama, there is an annual Bitcoin trading volume of about 5 billion dollars.

The local people have already adopted it, but there is a lack of clear policy support.

Currently, Tower Bank ( and the second largest state-owned bank Caja de Ahorros will launch Bitcoin accounts and trading services.

Mizrachi stated that the current core strategy is to trial first and legislate later.

The lesson given by El Salvador: Change the people's mindset from spending to saving.

El Salvador Bitcoin advisor Keiser summarized that:

"Bitcoin allows people to shift from a spending mindset to a saving mindset, which is the beginning of economic hope."

He also added that since Trump took office, the pressure from the United States on Central and South America has decreased, allowing Panama to promote Bitcoin policies with more confidence, without worrying about being sanctioned by the United States or being kicked out of the SWIFT system.

Bitcoin remains a key focus for the future, and Panama is expected to become an economic powerhouse in Central and South America.

At the end of the seminar, the host Mike Peterson also emphasized:

"Please buy Bitcoin, not products that are pegged to Bitcoin."

In summary, this dialogue is not only an exchange of experiences between El Salvador and Panama, but it also shows that Panama is actively utilizing national resources in the Web3 field, such as Bitcoin. With policy experimentation and private adoption advancing simultaneously, perhaps in the future, Panama may have the opportunity to become another new economic powerhouse in Latin America.

This article discusses whether Panama is taking cues from El Salvador? Mayor Mizrachi: Open BTC tax payments, state-owned banks will launch BTC accounts and trading services. First appeared in Chain News ABMedia.