Panama City to Accept Bitcoin, Ethereum, USD Coin, and Tether for Tax and Other Services

The payments will include Bitcoin [BTC], Ethereum [ETH], USD Coin [USDC], and Tether [USDT].

Panama’s capital city will begin accepting crypto payments for tax and other city-related services. The payments will include Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), USD Coin (USDC), and Tether (USDT).

Announcing this on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, Panama City’s mayor, Mizrachi Matalon, stated that the citizens will now be able to pay taxes, fees, tickets, and permits entirely in crypto.

However, the crypto payments will be converted directly to U.S. dollars via partner banks without the need for any extra crypto legislation.

Highlighting this, Matalon added that they've been trying to get the city to accept crypto for a while now. But previous administrations failed to adopt crypto payments.

"We are the 1st capital in Central America to accept cryptocurrencies. A new generation demands new forms of payment. We had been wanting to do this for a long time, but we couldn't do it because of legal issues or the willingness of previous administrations to adapt to new technologies. Now, we are making it happen."

"We are starting with BTC, ETH, USDC, and USDT. We are working with partner banks to facilitate the process of converting the cryptocurrencies to U.S. dollars directly."

The mayor further noted that they are also working on expanding the cryptocurrencies supported for payments.

"We are committed to staying ahead of the curve and providing our citizens with the best possible service."

Overall, cryptocurrency payments and adoption have been growing across several global territories and cities.

For instance, Lugano City in Switzerland began accepting BTC and USDT payments for tax and other city-related fees in December 2023.

Following Lugano's move, Canada's Vancouver announced the integration of BTC into its financial system, to support even tax payments, in December 2024.

In fact, even the U.S. states of Colorado and North Carolina explored similar crypto payments.

Besides, countries like Vanuatu accept Bitcoin for citizenship applications and integrate it with their immigration payments.

However, some jurisdictions have dialed back their crypto payment adoption. For instance, El Salvador scrapped tax payments through BTC with the amended Bitcoin law in early 2025.

That said, most experts have projected massive stablecoin adoption, including payments, if the U.S. passes pending bills in the summer.