Panama City Mayor Proposes Bitcoin Reserve After Meeting El Salvador Leader
Panama City Mayor Mayer Mizrachi has fueled speculation over a possible Bitcoin reserve proposal, following a meeting with El Salvador’s leading Bitcoin policymakers. On May 16, Mizrachi posted an apparently enigmatic “Bitcoin Reserve” message on X (formerly Twitter), following a meeting with Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert — strategic advisers to El Salvador’s Bitcoin policies.
While no official details were revealed, the timing of the post — just before Mizrachi’s scheduled appearance at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas — suggests a potential policy reveal may be imminent.
Panama City Eyes Bitcoin, Stablecoin Payments
Mayor Mizrachi has already indicated he would be open to receiving municipal fees in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ether, Tether, and USDC. He indicated, however, that this would need to proceed only when crypto-to-fiat payment infrastructure is online.
A complete Bitcoin reserve, à la El Salvador’s, would require legislative protection from Panama’s National Assembly — which Mizrachi has not yet pursued.
Learning from El Salvador’s Model
Max Keiser, senior advisor to President Nayib Bukele, said their conversation involved Bitcoin mining and financial education. He added Panama’s hydroelectricity and El Salvador’s geothermal energy as Central American assets to further expand Bitcoin use in the region.
Stacy Herbert, head of El Salvador’s Bitcoin Office, revealed Panama City plans to incorporate the “What is Money?” Bitcoin literacy textbook — a key part of El Salvador’s national curriculum — into its online library.
Bitcoin Reserve Trend Increases Across the Globe
Panama’s potential move is echoed by events in U.S. states like Arizona and New Hampshire, whose legislatures voted to support Bitcoin reserves. Ukraine has also reportedly been eyeing Bitcoin for national reserves.
El Salvador currently holds over 6,100 BTC — worth nearly $640 million — as part of its official reserve, a path that Panama City may also want to take.
Public Companies Build Up Bitcoin Stockpiles
Institutional Bitcoin adoption continues to increase. Strategy, whose CEO Michael Saylor is a firm Bitcoin supporter, said that it will double its capital-raising efforts to $84 billion to buy more BTC. This includes the offering of another $21 billion of common stock and raising its target debt issuance to $42 billion.
Japan’s Metaplanet also joined the trend, buying 1,241 BTC at $126 million, bringing its holdings to 6,796 BTC — valued at over $706 million.
The steady rise in public company Bitcoin holdings reflects ongoing institutional confidence in the face of persistent market uncertainty.
