In 2022 the National Assembly of Panama passed a crypto-asset bill that never became law: the Executive objected to it and, according to press reports, the Supreme Court declared it unenforceable (inexequible) in 2023. Today there is no specific framework, but there is what an issuer needs: a Securities Market Superintendence with clear rules for securities, and one of the largest trust and corporate-services industries in the region.
The framework: SMV and the absence of a crypto law
The Securities Market Superintendence (SMV) regulates public offerings, issuers and intermediaries under the securities market law; a tokenized security goes through there. Crypto-assets as such have no law in force: Bill 697 of 2021, passed again by the National Assembly on October 28, 2022, was never enacted, and according to press reports the Supreme Court declared it unenforceable on procedural grounds in June 2023 — providers operate under general anti-money-laundering duties and the supervision of their regulated activities, not under a VASP registry of their own. The practical reading: structure as a security, not as a crypto-asset.
Is there a VASP registration in Panama?
No. As of October 15, 2026, Panama has no crypto-asset law in force and no registry of its own for virtual asset service providers (VASPs). The bill the National Assembly passed in 2022, Bill 697 of 2021, was never enacted: the Supreme Court of Justice declared it unconstitutional (inexequible) on procedural grounds in a ruling of June 6, 2023, published in Official Gazette No. 29843. What is regulated is the security: if the token is a security, the offering, the issuer and the intermediaries fall under the Securities Market Superintendence (SMV). That is why a tokenized issuance in Panama is structured under the securities regime, not under a crypto license.
The vehicle: the Panamanian trust
The trust of Law 1 of 1984 (reformed in 2017) is one of the most used figures in Central America, with trustees licensed by the Superintendence of Banks. It is the Panamanian variant of the Latin American fideicomiso and, alongside Panamanian corporations, the natural vehicle to isolate the asset and represent its rights in tokens.
What is being tokenized
Real estate (Panama City concentrates regional investment), logistics and assets tied to the canal and the free zone, and corporate debt. The reading for an issuer: Panama is a structuring hub and a gateway to Central American and Caribbean investors; the tokenization that works there is the one that respects the SMV standard.
How we work with issuers in the country
The anatomy does not change from country to country: classification of the asset, a vehicle with segregated assets, a token with transfer restrictions, verified identity on every transfer and serious custody — the seven-layer platform we build, with the local legal layer on top and a local counsel alongside. The full map of the region is in tokenization in Latin America.
Framework described as of mid-2026; regimes change — check the current status before structuring. Project in Panama? Talk to us.
Sources and regulations cited
- Official Gazette No. 29843 · gacetaoficial.gob.pa
- Securities Market Superintendence (SMV) · supervalores.gob.pa