• Panama City will begin accepting BTC, ETH, USDC, and USDT for tax and city fees. 
• Panama City’s mayor noted that the crypto-to-fiat rail approach was the best option amid legislation delays. 

Panama’s capital 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].

In an X (formerly Twitter) post on 15th April, Panama City’s mayor, Mizrachi Matalon, stated, 

“Citizens will now be able to pay taxes, fees, tickets, and permits entirely in crypto, starting with BTC, ETH, USDC, and USDT.”

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

He added that previous administrations failed to adopt crypto payments, but using crypto-to-fiat rails could help circumvent this. 

Growing acceptance of Bitcoin, altcoins

Cryptocurrency payments and adoption have been growing across several global territories and cities.

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

In December 2024, Canada’s Vancouver followed Lugano’s steps and announced an integration of BTC into its financial system, to support even tax payments.

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

Besides, other 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. In El Salvador, the amended Bitcoin law in early 2025 effectively scrapped tax payments through BTC.  

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