That is true, it remains Laurentino Cortizo which is the present Panamanian president to sign the bill, Panamanian legislature has passed it to the president to sign. The president support some aspect of the bill but saying illicit use of cryptocurrencies should be addressed. I thought the legislature should have done that. Only little time remains, Panama president would most likely soon sign the crypto bill into law.
Although the
Panama cryptocurrency bill that was approved by the country's legislature in April doesn't allow Bitcoin to become a legal tender, but it promotes the free use of crypto as a means of payment for all kinds of transaction. It also allows digital asset companies to establish operations in the country and treats crypto assets as foreign-source income without taxes on capital gains.
The President of Panama Laurentino Cortizo called the bill a good law, but he stated that he would not give his signature. His refusal to sign the law is born out of fear that
Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) a so-called global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog founded by Group of Seven (G-7) nations wouldn’t remove Panama from its grey list (FATF closely monitors country in their grey list). FATF might be doing a good job but it is possible that most nations are not recognizing or accepting Bitcoin because their hands are tied by anti-bitcoin forces using diverse international treaties and organizations.