Laurentino Cortizo, Panama’s President has partially vetoed Bill dubbed the “crypto bill,” saying it requires more work to better fit Panama’s financial regulations.
President Cortizo previously warned in May he wouldn’t sign the bill unless it included additional Anti-Money Laundering rules after Panama’s National Assembly passed the crypto bill in late April 2022.
President Cortizo has previously described the legislation as an innovative law and indicated approval of certain aspects of the bill but has said possible illicit uses of cryptocurrencies needed addressing.
Congressman Gabriel Silva who helped introduce the bill in September 2021 stated the veto was “a lost opportunity to generate jobs, attract investment and incorporate technology and innovation in the public sector.”
If the bill is eventually signed, it will make Panama the second Central American country to regulate the spending of cryptocurrencies. The nearby country of El Salvador was famously the first country to make Bitcoin a legal tender.
Unlike El Salvador, however, Panama’s bill covers other cryptocurrencies besides Bitcoin and wouldn’t require local businesses to accept digital assets.
