PANAMA Law and Practice Contributed by: Kharla Aizpurua Olmos, Roberto Vidal, Miguel Arias and Eduardo Oteiza, Morgan & Morgan
10.5 Regulation of Blockchain Asset Trading Platforms Blockchain asset trading platforms and the secondary market trading of blockchain assets, either through intermediaries or peer-to-peer, are not regulated in Panama. 10.6 Staking The provision of staking services relating to cryptocur - rencies is not regulated in Panama. 10.7 Crypto-Related Lending The provision of lending services relating to cryptocur - rencies is not regulated in Panama. 10.8 Cryptocurrency Derivatives The offering of cryptocurrency derivatives is not regu - lated in Panama. 10.9 Decentralised Finance (DeFi) Decentralised finance is not regulated in Panama. 10.10 Regulation of Funds Funds that invest in blockchain assets are not regu - lated in Panama. 10.11 Virtual Currencies Currently, no regulations apply to digital assets, cryp - tocurrencies or virtual currencies in Panama. How - ever, both the SBP and the SMV have issued public notices and opinions stating that they do not generally monitor cryptocurrencies. Each entity has specifically established the following. The SMV In Opinion 7 of 2018, the SMV indicated that it does not consider cryptocurrencies (specifically, bitcoin) as currencies, noting that “in the Republic of Panama, no inherent value has been given to bitcoin or another type of cryptocurrency”. The SMV also confirmed that the concept of “securities” under the Securities Law does not encompass virtual currencies, so bitcoin is not considered a security. Additionally, the SMV established that no forex regulation applies to cryp - tocurrencies, as it only applies to currencies that are an exclusive and incidental activity of broker-dealer houses.
In a statement issued on 25 April 2018, the SMV referred to cryptocurrencies as “digital assets intend - ed for purchases, sales, or other financial transactions, created by companies or individuals and stored elec - tronically in a blockchain, a database that maintains a permanent record of these digital transactions”. Furthermore, through Opinion 4 of 2025, the SMV reaffirmed that cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) are not considered securities or financial instruments under the Securities Law. As a result, activities involving their purchase, sale, transfer or non‑custodial storage do not fall within the regula - tory or supervisory jurisdiction of the SMV. In Opin - ion 4 of 2025, the SMV explains that a non‑custodial technological platform that facilitates user interac - tion with decentralised exchanges does not involve intermediation, investment advice, custody of finan - cial instruments, portfolio management, or public offerings of securities, and therefore does not trigger any licensing, registration or compliance obligations before the SMV. Opinion 4 of 2025 also highlights that licensed broker-dealers and investment advisers are expressly prohibited from handling crypto-assets on behalf of clients, as cryptocurrencies are not among the investment products permitted under the current legal framework. The SMV emphasises that Panama’s existing securities laws were not designed with cryp - to-assets or distributed‑ledger‑based instruments in mind, and acknowledges that the rapid growth of crypto markets exposes gaps in the legal framework. Therefore, the SMV does not consider digital assets, cryptocurrencies or virtual currencies to be subject to its supervision, and no licence is required to operate activities involving the exchange of virtual currencies or cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin and other cryp - tocurrencies. The SBP Unlike the SMV, the opinions of the SBP are not avail - able to the general public. However, on 24 April 2018, the SBP issued a public notice warning the general public about the use of “bitcoin or any other instru - ment of the same category”, indicating that these do not have specific regulations and are not within the competence of the SBP. The notice also established that “as usual, regulated entities must maintain due
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