The Week in Latam Crypto: Bukele to Meet Trump, Panama Considers Cryptocurrency Bill, Venezuela's Bolivar Plunges

Welcome to Latam Insights, a compendium of the most relevant crypto and economic news from Latin America over the past week.

El Salvador's President Buys More Bitcoin as Trump Hits Oil Buyers With Tariffs - Latam Express

The Scene: Greetings from Latam Insights, offering a weekly digest of the most pertinent crypto and economic news from Latin America. This week: El Salvador's story continues with a visit from U.S. President Donald Trump, while in Panama, a new bill proposes setting up a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency and introducing tax incentives for crypto-linked companies. Plus, in Venezuela, the Trump administration's announcement regarding the enactment of secondary tariffs on countries that purchase Venezuelan crude is already wreaking havoc, pushing the Venezuelan bolivar to new lows.

El Salvador’s Bukele to Meet Trump at White House - Will Bitcoin Be on the Table?

The visit, which was confirmed by Bukele’s office on March 28, 2025, according to Bloomberg, centers around a U.S.-El Salvador deal in which the Central American nation accepted 238 alleged members of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua and 23 MS-13 affiliates to be deported from the U.S. in March.

The U.S. paid $6 million to house the detainees in El Salvador’s 40,000-capacity Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT). Their conversation might also touch upon cryptocurrency policies, given both leaders' open interest in bitcoin ( BTC). Bukele introduced bitcoin as legal tender in 2021 and has amassed over 6,131 BTC ($504 million), while Trump established a U.S. strategic bitcoin reserve (SBR) during the first week of March.

Bukele’s administration continues to buy BTC daily, an action they reaffirmed in a March 2025 social media post: “We’re not stopping.” Initiatives like “Bitcoin City,” a proposed tax-free crypto hub powered by geothermal energy from a volcano, are aiming to put El Salvador on the map as a global cryptocurrency innovator. According to the Bloomberg editorial, Donald Trump Jr. attended Bukele’s inauguration in June.

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Bill Proposes Voluntary Cryptocurrency Acceptance in Panama

The “establishing a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency and blockchain usage, and promote a digital economy in Panama” bill no 668 was recently presented to the National Assembly by Substitute Representative Gabriel Solis, aiming to bring some clarity to the industry in the country.

The bill defines several key cryptocurrency concepts, introduces minimal licensing and capital requirements for virtual asset service providers (VASPs), creates a new institution for supervising VASPs, and proposes giving tax incentives to crypto-linked companies.

In addition, the bill contemplates the voluntary use of cryptocurrency for commercial transactions in the country, opening the doors for the start of a digital economy in Panama. The figure of blockchain is also proposed to streamline the property registry and public document verification, tax payments, digital identity projects, and official document issuance activities.

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Venezuelan Bolivar Plunges After Secondary Crude Tariff Regime Announcement

The Trump administration’s announcement regarding the enactment of secondary tariffs on countries that purchase Venezuelan crude is already wreaking havoc, causing instability in the country’s currency.

The Venezuelan bolivar, which had enjoyed some stability due to the government’s regular injections of dollars into the national market, has accelerated its loss against the U.S. dollar, passing the 100 VES per USD mark recently.

This was regarded by analysts as disastrous for the national economy. Commercial transactions and prices will need to reflect this increase, hurting Venezuelans who earn their wages in the national currency.

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