en.coinotag.com
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Panama City’s Mayor Mayer Mizrachi advocates for Bitcoin adoption, proposing BTC payments for Panama Canal fare.
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Mizrachi highlights his city’s role in setting a Bitcoin adoption roadmap, despite national hurdles.
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He acknowledges the need for regional DeFi ecosystems to drive Panama’s crypto future, taking inspiration from El Salvador.
Mayer Mizrachi, Mayor of Panama City, is pushing for Bitcoin payment options in key sectors, including the Panama Canal, aiming for regional crypto leadership.
Mizrachi Brings Bitcoin to Panama
Over the past few years, Panama has made several attempts to reform its Bitcoin policies, but these efforts repeatedly stalled out. However, Mayer Mizrachi, the mayor of Panama City, has been attempting to innovate once again. Much like El Salvador, Panama is a nation that uses the US dollar as its legal tender. Mizrachi detailed a new approach to changing that:
“What we created was a roadmap for how cities can embrace Bitcoin regardless of national law. You can build the building blocks, so the central government can copy what you’re doing after it’s proven. 70% of [Panama’s] GDP is in my city. Whatever my city does, it makes waves around the country,” Mizrachi claimed.
Mizrachi talked about his initial plan to accept Bitcoin for municipal tax payments. In some ways, this strategy had major limits, as the city was required to exchange all this BTC for USD. This has been a springboard for Panama’s largest banks needing to deal in Bitcoin.
He stated that already, Mizrachi has advised other mayors in the region how they can start similar initiatives, making this project an easy way to transform Panama’s entire Bitcoin ecosystem from the limitations of one mayor’s office.