Ships Could Pay Panama Canal Transit Fees in Bitcoin and Cut the Line, Panama City Mayor Muses

LAS VEGAS, Nevada — The Mayor of Panama City, Mayer Mizrachi, is taking notes on bitcoin from the leader of El Salvador.

Speaking at Bitcoin 2025 in Las Vegas on Thursday, Mizrachi said he’s been thinking of ways Panama’s capital city, which is home to the Panama Canal, could implement bitcoin payments.

This includes potentially setting up a strategic bitcoin reserve for Panama City, as well as possibly taking payments — including for passage through the Panama Canal — in bitcoin, Mizrachi said.

“What if you have a perk for paying in bitcoin?” Mizrachi mused. “You’d get to go faster.”

Under Mizrachi, Panama City passed a bill that allows residents to pay for taxes, parking tickets, permits, and other fees with bitcoin BTC, ether ETH and some stablecoins.

Four years ago, at Bitcoin 2021, Nayib Bukele, the leader of Panama’s central American neighbor El Salvador, announced that his country would begin accepting bitcoin as legal tender. Mizrachi said he was directly inspired by Bukele’s policies.

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