A bill in Panama wants to allow the use of several cryptocurrencies throughout the country. 5 acts are proposed among which bitcoin (BTC), ethereum (ETH), elrond (EGLD), tether (USDT) and more surprisingly, an unknown to the pack the Zeven Utility Token (7UT).
Panama turns to cryptos
This Monday, September 6, 2021, independent congressman and Panamanian congressman, Gabriel Silva presented a bill (Entirely available on Google Drive) aimed at making Panama “a country compatible with the digital economy, blockchain, cryptocurrencies and the Internet.”
The politician announced the news on his Twitter account a few hours later:
“Today we present to you the Crypto Law. […] It has the potential to create thousands of jobs, attract investment and make government more transparent.”
We already told you about dear Gabriel Silva in a previous article. The MP with the laser eyes (the symbolic embodiment of all his support for bitcoin) is now pushing the envelope with a concrete proposal.
In particular, he proposes that cryptocurrencies be used everywhere as a means of payment in Panama. But more surprisingly, he also plans that the citizens of Panama can pay their taxes with it.
The bill mentions a total of 5 cryptocurrencies. If the presence of Bitcoin, Ethereum or the reference stablecoin USDT will surprise no one, we will note in a more surprising way the presence of the eGLD of the Elrond Network project, and especially the obscure token 7UT. This asset, evolving in the form of an Ethereum ERC-20 token, is a real unknown in the marketcap. Associated with an initiative presented as “green” and the HYT wallet, there is only a (very limited) trace of it on Etherscan, which should, beyond the context, incite the greatest caution.
A news already relayed (and distorted)
It didn’t take long for the news to spread, especially on Twitter, with some people announcing in no uncertain terms that Panama would now accept bitcoin. Unfortunately, for the moment, and as interesting and novel as it is, the initiative is just a bill.
Thus, we find some crypto-enthusiasts commenting:
“Panama has just unveiled the draft of its new crypto-currency law. The best part: – legal tender including to pay taxes – legal framework for exchanges, DEX, ICO, NFT, mining – not only btc but also ethereum “
Patrick Aljord on Twitter
Unlike El Salvador, it should be noted that Panama would not require businesses to accept bitcoin (BTC) or any other cryptocurrency as payment. It would simply be a matter of being able to offer them in a supervised manner.
“To provide legal, regulatory and fiscal security for the use, possession and issuance of digital securities and cryptocurrencies within the Republic of Panama”
details the bill…
Currently, cryptocurrencies are not prohibited in Panama. Indeed, the country’s constitution does not allow the government to impose a national currency. Since 1904, however, Panama has adopted the U.S. dollar as its common currency. The balboa, a local currency backed by the dollar, also circulates in the country.
While this legislative move is unlikely to succeed as it stands, it is still very exciting to see politicians publicly supporting cryptocurrencies. Considering that we are still at the dawn of their democratization. It remains to be seen how the Panamanian Congress will react to this vote? Last week, Honduras installed its first Bitcoin ATMs, will Panama join them?
