Panama attracts entrepreneurs in the digital-asset sector through a combination of low taxes and flexible corporate law. A Panama crypto company can operate in foreign markets without a specific financial license, yet the absence of a license does not mean the absence of obligations. The procedure for company formation in Panama remains fast, but it is followed by a whole set of transparency requirements. Below we set out what is regulated here and what is not.
- Crypto assets are not classified as securities in Panama, so no SMV broker‑dealer or investment‑adviser licence is required for offshore operations.
- Banking supervision applies only where activities resemble conventional banking; pure crypto trading outside Panama falls outside SBP licensing rules.
- Benefits rely on a strictly offshore regime: no local office or staff, no Panamanian clients, and operations confined to foreign markets and platforms.
- No mandatory VASP licence exists yet, but draft laws such as Bill No. 247 signal a forthcoming, FATF‑aligned licensing and reporting framework.
Panama Crypto Company: Legal Status
Panamanian corporations are formed under Law 32 of 1927, which gives a company the right to carry on any lawful commercial activity anywhere in the world. There is no outright prohibition on cryptocurrency operations in the country.
Digital assets are entirely legal here, but no dedicated crypto law yet exists. As a result, a Panama crypto company operates within the general framework of corporate and anti-money-laundering legislation. This creates flexibility, but it also calls for careful attention to compliance.
In practice, this means the company may open accounts on foreign exchanges and manage its own assets freely. At the same time, it must observe the transparency rules discussed below. It is the combination of operational freedom and strict record-keeping that defines the real picture, rather than the mere fact of operating without a license.
Why Crypto Assets Are Not Securities
The key document for the industry is Opinion No. 5-2023 of 24 August 2023, issued by Panama’s Superintendency of the Securities Market (SMV). In it, the regulator confirmed a principle that builds on its earlier positions.
Cryptocurrencies and their derivatives are not classified as securities under the Consolidated Text of the Securities Law (Decree Law 1 of 1999). Legally, they are treated more like commodities or utility tokens than like traditional financial instruments.
A direct conclusion follows from this classification: if crypto assets are not securities, the regulator simply has no power to license them. An offshore Panama crypto company therefore has no obligation to obtain a license as an investment adviser or broker-dealer. The regulator’s official position is available from the Superintendency of the Securities Market (Opinion No. 5-2023).
The Banking Regulator’s Position
The financial sector is supervised not only on the securities side, so the position of the Superintendency of Banks of Panama (SBP) also matters. In many respects it mirrors the approach of its SMV counterparts.
Cryptocurrency operations in themselves fall outside the scope of banking supervision. Regulation arises only when a company begins to conduct conventional banking business – for example, taking fiat deposits from the public.
As long as activity remains strictly offshore, the licensing requirements of the Banking Law (Decree Law 9 of 1998) do not apply. This distinction is fundamentally important, because it is precisely what separates unregulated asset trading from licensed banking.
When the Offshore Regime Applies
All of the concessions described above rest on a single condition: the activity must be carried on strictly outside Panama. Any local connection can change the legal picture.
In practice, this implies several limits on the company:
- no physical office or local staff in the country;
- no offering of services to Panamanian residents;
- operations conducted solely on foreign markets and platforms.
As soon as a company starts to attract local clients, the situation changes, and it risks falling under supervision as a “regulated subject”. The line between offshore and domestic operations must therefore be observed strictly and deliberately.
Responsibility for meeting this condition lies with the company itself, and contracts, correspondence and the nature of settlements serve as proof. The cleaner the separation of operations, the more robust the company’s legal position.
Taxation of a Crypto Company in Panama
Panama applies a territorial system of taxation, under which only income from local sources is taxed. Profit earned abroad generally does not fall within the scope of Panamanian income tax.
For a cryptocurrency company in Panama this is a significant advantage: if trading and operations are conducted on foreign markets, the income is treated as foreign, and corporate tax on such profit usually does not arise.
It is important not to confuse tax with reporting. Exemption from tax does not remove the duty to keep records – the company still documents its operations and retains its paperwork. We examine this balance between reliefs and transparency just below.
There is a second important nuance: the tax treatment also depends on the beneficial owner’s country of residence. Many states tax their residents’ income regardless of where it is earned, so reliefs in Panama do not cancel tax obligations where the owner is tax resident.
Who the Panama Structure Suits
The Panama structure is of interest above all to entrepreneurs operating in international markets. The categories of business that most often consider it are:
- traders and arbitrage teams active on crypto exchanges;
- projects issuing and exchanging tokens outside Panama;
- holding companies for the management of digital assets.
In all of these cases the key condition is the same: clients and operations sit outside the country. Under that scenario, the combination of a flexible regime and territorial taxation delivers a real benefit, whereas working with the local market makes those advantages disappear.
For many of these founders the appeal is deliberate: Panama offers a lighter-touch alternative to fully licensed environments such as the EU or Dubai. The trade-off is equally clear – the lighter the regulatory footprint, the more scrutiny a business tends to face when it comes to banking, as the next section explains.
VASP License in Panama: Current Status
Many people confuse the legislature’s plans with the rules in force, so the question of a VASP license in Panama calls for precision. As of 2026, there is no mandatory licensing of virtual-asset service providers in the country.
This is what sets Panama apart from the major regulated hubs. In the European Union, the MiCA regulation has required crypto-asset service providers to hold a CASP authorisation since the end of 2024, and Dubai supervises virtual-asset firms through its dedicated regulator, VARA. Panama, by contrast, still has no purpose-built VASP regime – which is exactly why entrepreneurs comparing jurisdictions tend to look at it closely.
The history here is instructive. In 2021, Bill No. 697 on crypto assets was introduced, but the president imposed a partial veto over weak anti-money-laundering provisions, and in 2023 the Supreme Court declared the law unconstitutional altogether.
A newer measure, Bill No. 247, introduced in 2025, is currently under review. It envisages mandatory VASP registration and the creation of a dedicated digital-asset council; however, the text has not yet been enacted, and a VASP license in Panama is not required for offshore operations at present.
Even so, the situation may change. If the law is eventually passed, a VASP license in Panama will become mandatory for providers, and existing companies will most likely be given a transitional period to register. That is precisely why it is sensible to monitor the progress of these bills now.
Crypto Regulation in Panama and AML Controls
The absence of a license does not release a company from anti-money-laundering rules. To a large extent, crypto regulation in Panama is built precisely on the AML/CFT regime, the foundation of which is Law 23 of 2015.
This regime operates on the principle of territoriality. Direct registration with the Financial Analysis Unit (UAF) is mandatory for regulated subjects – the term used for companies that genuinely carry on business inside the country.
An offshore company with no operations on Panamanian territory does not fall into that category, so it does not register with the UAF directly and files no operational reports with it. Even so, administrative oversight is retained, exercised through the resident agent, whose role is discussed below.
Opening Accounts and Client Due Diligence
In practice, the main barrier is not the license but bank compliance. Banks and payment providers scrutinise crypto businesses closely, so it is worth preparing for account opening well in advance.
Financial partners most commonly request the following:
- a description of the business model and the nature of operations;
- confirmation of the source of funds and the origin of assets;
- details of the company’s beneficial owners;
- internal KYC and anti-money-laundering procedures.
These requirements grow stricter every year, reflecting the general trend towards transparency in crypto regulation in Panama. A well-considered structure and clean documentation make the review process considerably easier.
Resident Agent, Beneficial Owners and Records
This is where the main misconception about offshore companies becomes apparent: there is no such thing as a complete absence of obligations, and several laws keep the company under control even when it operates abroad.
Law 129 of 2020 created a register of beneficial owners. The resident agent is required to file and regularly update information on the ultimate beneficial owners, while oversight of the agents themselves is exercised by the Superintendency of Non-Financial Subjects (SSNF).
Law 254 of 2021 further tightened record-keeping requirements: copies of accounting records must be provided to the resident agent each year. The basic duty to retain documentation was established earlier, by Law 52 of 2016, and breaches carry penalties and suspension of corporate rights.
The deadlines here are quite specific. Changes to the beneficial-owner details must be notified to the agent within fifteen business days, and a copy of the accounting records is filed annually, typically by the end of April. Meeting these deadlines is the company’s own responsibility.
To compare clearly what is not required and what remains mandatory:
| Licenses that are not required | Obligations that remain |
|---|---|
| Broker-dealer license from the SMV | Registering beneficial owners via the agent |
| Investment-adviser license | Annual filing of accounting records |
| Banking license from the SBP | Retaining accounting documentation |
| Mandatory VASP license (for now) | Internal compliance and client due diligence |
Where Crypto-Asset Legislation Is Heading
The current status should not be regarded as permanent. Panama is preparing for the FATF evaluation scheduled for 2027, and that pressure is pushing the country towards stricter crypto regulation.
Several initiatives are currently under review. In addition to Bill No. 247, Bill No. 326 was later added, and at the start of 2026 a further dedicated draft was introduced – all of them remain still under discussion. Taken together, they point in a familiar direction: a FATF-aligned licensing regime closer to what the EU and the UAE already operate. In December 2025 Panama also joined the OECD Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), with data exchange due to begin from 2027.
For business, all of this means something fairly simple: the window for unregulated activity is gradually narrowing. Banks are already tightening checks on the source of funds when accounts are opened, so it makes sense to structure the company with future requirements in mind.
Existing companies are unlikely to face abrupt prohibitions, yet disclosure requirements will only increase. It is better to prepare for them in advance rather than after a law has been passed.
Key Takeaways for Entrepreneurs
A Panama crypto company can today operate in foreign markets without a specific license – confirmed by the position of the securities regulator and the absence of an enacted VASP law. But offshore status is not the same as having no obligations.
Transparency of beneficial owners, accounting records and working through a resident agent remain mandatory conditions. Given the forthcoming FATF evaluation and accession to CARF, the regulatory regime will gradually tighten, so thoughtful structuring of the business in advance reduces risk and eases the transition to future rules.
Finally, it is worth arranging corporate bank account and compliance before launch: this lowers the risk of being refused service at the outset, while clean documentation and a clear business model save both time and money down the line.
Tags: Panama
