Panama Introduces Crypto Bill

Highlights

• Independent Panamanian Congressman, Gabriel Silva, introduced a bill on Monday proposing the regulated use of cryptocurrencies throughout the country.
• One of the key differences between Panama’s crypto bill and El Salvador’s is while El Salvador is adopting Bitcoin solely, Panama wishes to include Ethereum as well as Bitcoin.
• The bill also proposes the use of blockchain to store public records as well as the digitalisation of legislative and administrative acts.

A bill has been introduced in Panama that will allow for the use of cryptocurrency for civil, commercial, and tax purposes.

Independent Panamanian Congressman, Gabriel Silva, introduced a bill on Monday proposing the regulated use of cryptocurrencies throughout the country.

What Are the Details of the Bill?

Silva announced yesterday that Panama hopes to become compatible with blockchain technology as well as crypto assets and the internet. He highlighted its potential to build the economy by creating jobs and attracting investments while also saying blockchain technology would make the government more transparent.

The new bill introduced by Silva would permit the use of crypto assets as payment for any civil or commercial operation.

As well as introducing crypto for commercial purposes, the bill also proposes the use of blockchain to store public records as well as the digitalisation of legislative and administrative acts.

What is a Blockchain?

The nature of blockchain technology allows for the reliable and secure storing of data. A blockchain is a collection of digitalised data that is stored in blocks and recorded along a chain. The tampering of blockchains is very difficult as if a hacker changes one piece of data on the blockchain, it becomes immediately apparent to all the users of that platform. In order to change a piece of data on a blockchain, the hacker must change every piece of data. This means that the larger the blockchain is, the more secure it becomes. Thus, it’s a good way of storing information.

Due to the possibilities brought about by blockchain technology, the bill seeks for Panama to establish trust between people and businesses such as smart contracts and new forms of organisations.

The bill's proposal in Panama follows the introduction of Bitcoin into fellow Central America nations – El Salvador.

El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as legal tender starting from yesterday after the country purchased 400 Bitcoins ahead of the rollout.

Source: © Iuriimotov | Megapixl.com

Panama Extends to Ethereum

One of the key differences between Panama’s crypto bill and El Salvador’s is that while El Salvador is adopting Bitcoin solely, Panama wishes to include Ethereum and Bitcoin.

Ethereum is the second largest cryptocurrency in the world after Bitcoin but one of the key differences between the two is Ethereum’s blockchain runs on smart contracts, which allows for the creation and inclusion of decentralised applications (DApps).

Panama is also easing in the adoption of cryptocurrency more inclusively, allowing businesses to choose whether to accept crypto.

This is another difference to El Salvador’s crypto introduction which made the adoption of Bitcoin mandatory.

This could end up being a key difference between the two countries in regard to how well their respective populations accept this change. In the lead up to El Salvador’s Bitcoin rollout, a series of protests broke out surrounding the lack of understanding of the digital currency. This is a problem Panama will hope to avoid.