Panama joins the list of Latin American countries that are getting closer to bitcoin (BTC). A bill, presented before the National Assembly, seeks to regulate all activities related to cryptocurrencies. The Central American country will also evaluate using digital assets as an optional payment method to acquire products and services.
The legislative draft consists of eight chapters and 31 articles that cover tax aspects, measures to counter money laundering. capital, technical training, mining of digital assets and permits for banks to design business models with cryptocurrencies.
For accounting purposes, Panamanian entities may use bitcoin or cryptocurrencies to pay taxes to the State or its institutions, but they must be expressed in balboas, the national currency, or dollars. The receiving institutions will be in charge of exchanging the funds “immediately” to stablecoins to avoid the volatility of the market.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industries (MICI) will create an item called “Business with Blockchain Technology” for those companies that seek this license. This includes companies developing wallets, exchanges or those who issue non-fungible tokens (NFT), for example
The request for the The license will cost $ 10,000 and a one-time annual fee of $ 2,000. In addition, all companies that offer services must apply “Know your customer” (KYC) protocols.
Two “structures” for Bitcoin mining
Chapter five of the bill covers exclusively the issue of cryptocurrency mining. The activity is divided into two structures : the low-scale and the high-scale. The first includes those miners who obtain a profit of no more than 50,000 dollars per year.
This structure is for miners who carry out their work in their homes and not in sheds or commercial premises. In this case, no license will be issued, but the entity must make a payment of 15% on net profits.
The high-scale one will be for entities that obtain more than $ 50,000 as an annual profit. For these cases, the legislative proposal states: «said activity will be carried out only in commercial premises, and the use of homes will not be allowed. The miner is obliged to make an annual income statement and will pay 25% of the net profits for the mining profits obtained. ”
The initiative was formulated by Deputy Cenovia Vargas on 17 August and includes guidelines to attract foreign investment among mining companies . Those corporations that decide to install their equipment in Panama will have tax incentives if they hire local personnel.
Renewable energies to mine cryptocurrencies
In a second draft presented by Joseph Isaza, this time dated August 25, various aspects are raised to regulate Bitcoin mining. The document talks about mining with renewable energy and possible benefits for investors.
Among the requirements that the country would demand of miners are: use 50% renewable energy and hire at least five Panamanians in their facilities, among other guidelines. It is not clear if there is a minimum investment amount for Bitcoin mining, but the license method would be used to operate in Panamanian territory.
«The Panamanian State may grant concessions that are for the benefit of these investors and of the community where said economic activities are carried out. The Ministry of Commerce and Industries and the General Directorate of Revenue will recognize the investment of cryptocurrencies as an economic activity “, reads the bill.
Panama joins Paraguay and El Salvador as Latin American nations that have shown a rapprochement with Bitcoin. In the latter, adoption would be much higher since bitcoin will be recognized as legal tender, as reported by CriptoNoticias.
