Panama Canal Could Prioritize Bitcoin-Paying Ships, Mayor Suggests

Panama City’s mayor, Mayer Mizrachi, put forward an unusual plan at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas on May 29. He suggested that cargo ships could speed up their transit through the Panama Canal if they paid in Bitcoin. It was a brief comment, but it set off a flurry of questions about how it might work in practice.

Bitcoin Payments For Priority Passage

According to reports from the panel, Mizrachi spoke alongside El Salvador’s Bitcoin policy leaders, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert. He said that ships could “cut the line” by paying tolls in Bitcoin.

He offered the idea as a way to reward early adopters. It was presented in a casual tone, but it touched on a serious topic: how fast payments could tie into a long-standing shipping process.

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Questions Over Fees And Fairness

Based on what was discussed, the Canal’s current rule is first-come, first-served. Changing that would need approval from the Panama Canal Authority and Panama’s national government.

Shipping companies might push back if they feel smaller carriers are priced out. US President Donald Trump weighed in late last year, arguing that US ships faced “unfair tolls” and hinting at reclaiming the Canal in December 2024. That episode showed how sensitive Canal changes can be.
Handling A $5 Billion Business
According to the Panama Canal website, the waterway brought in around $5 billion in revenue between October 2023 and September 2024. Nearly 10,000 ships passed through, carrying about 423 million tons of goods. That’s about 5% of global maritime commerce.

If Bitcoin payments were allowed, the Authority would need a plan to deal with price swings. One day’s checkout could be 50 BTC, the next it might jump to 60 BTC. Panama would likely need a quick exchange system to turn BTC into dollars or other stable currencies.

A Push For City-Level Crypto
Mizrachi has also backed letting people pay city fees—taxes, fines and permits—in Bitcoin, Ether and USDC. He raised the idea of a Bitcoin reserve for Panama City, which produces over half of the nation’s GDP.

He noted he wouldn’t need more laws to start one. But real steps will depend on lawmakers and officials at the national level. For now, it remains a mayoral proposal, rather than a binding plan.

Mizrachi claimed over $5 billion in Bitcoin transactions happen in Panama every year, though much of it is “behind closed doors,” he said.

Featured image from Pexels, chart from TradingView