Quick Summary:
- Panama City Mayor Mayer Mizrachi teases a potential Bitcoin reserve via social media.
- Mizrachi met with El Salvador’s Bitcoin leaders Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert.
- Panama City is preparing to accept Bitcoin, Ether, Tether, and USDC.
- Financial education and Bitcoin mining were key topics in the meeting.
- Panama may follow El Salvador’s lead, which holds over 6,100 BTC (~$640M).
- Public companies like Strategy and Metaplanet continue expanding Bitcoin treasuries.
Bitcoin Buzz in Panama: What We Know
Panama City Mayor Mayer Mizrachi has sparked a wave of speculation in the crypto community with a cryptic post on X that simply read: “Bitcoin Reserve.” The post came shortly after a meeting with Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert, two major architects behind El Salvador’s national Bitcoin strategy.
While no official details have been confirmed, the timing — just ahead of Mizrachi’s appearance at Bitcoin 2025 in Las Vegas — suggests something big may be on the horizon.
From Conversation to Crypto Policy?
According to Keiser, their meeting with the mayor covered topics like Bitcoin mining and financial education. Mizrachi also plans to make Panama City crypto-friendly by accepting Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether (USDT), and USD Coin (USDC) for municipal services — once a fiat-to-crypto payment system is in place.
But creating an official Bitcoin reserve would need more than a tweet — it would require approval from Panama’s National Assembly. No such proposal has been made public yet.
Education First: “What Is Money?”
Stacy Herbert, who leads El Salvador’s Bitcoin Office, shared that Panama City will include El Salvador’s Bitcoin-centric financial literacy textbook, “What is Money?”, in its online education portal — a sign that Panama may be laying groundwork for broader Bitcoin integration.
Global and Corporate Momentum
Panama’s possible pivot comes amid rising global interest in Bitcoin reserves. Both Arizona and New Hampshire in the U.S. have proposed similar reserve plans. Meanwhile, Ukraine is also exploring Bitcoin as part of its national reserves.
In the corporate world, Bitcoin is gaining traction. Michael Saylor’s Strategy plans to ramp up capital-raising to $84 billion to buy more BTC, including issuing $21 billion in new stock and expanding debt offerings.
Similarly, Japan’s Metaplanet just added 1,241 BTC (worth $126M) to its treasury, bringing its total holdings to 6,796 BTC, now valued at over $706 million.
What’s Next?
Mayor Mizrachi hasn’t made any official moves — yet. But the cryptic “Bitcoin Reserve” post, paired with discussions with El Salvador’s Bitcoin strategists and upcoming international appearances, signals that Panama City might be gearing up for a major Bitcoin play.
Stay tuned. The next crypto capital might just be closer than we think.
“Bitcoin Reserve.” – Mayer Mizrachi, Mayor of Panama City