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Panama City Greenlights Bitcoin, Ether Payments for Tax and City Services

The capital of Panama will accept crypto payments for certain services, Panama city Mayor Mayer Mizrachi said in an X post.

Updated Apr 17, 2025, 4:32 p.m. Published Apr 17, 2025, 6:53 a.m.
FastNews (CoinDesk)
FastNews (CoinDesk)

What to know:

Panama City locals can soon settle taxes, parking tickets, permits, and other fees with bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), and stablecoins USDC and tether (USDT), mayor Mayer Mizrachi said late Wednesday.

“Prior administrations tried to push a bill in the senate to make this possible, but we found a simple way to do it without new legislation,” Mizrachi said in an X post. “Legally public institutions must receive funds in $, so we partner with a bank that will take care of the transaction receiving in crypto and convert on spot to $.

“This allows for the free flow of crypto in the entire economy and entire government,” he added.

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KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.

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  • KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
  • This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
  • Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
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  • Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.

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Copper, gold and bitcoin: A macro signal to watch

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The copper-to-gold ratio is breaking higher, a move that has historically aligned with key turning points in bitcoin cycles.

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  • A rising copper-to-gold ratio signals a shift toward risk-on conditions and has historically preceded major bitcoin rallies after prolonged downtrends.
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