Top 30 Panama Bank is ‘Bitcoin friendly,’ welcomes crypto services

Panama’s path to crypto adoption is stepping up a gear. Towerbank, a Panamanian financial institution with over 200 employees and 40 years of banking experience, has declared itself Bitcoin-friendly, paving the way for crypto accounts. 

Gabriel Campa,  vice president of product for Towerbank, told Cointelegraph that “We believe that as a bank, we have much to offer to this community,” asserting the group’s status as “crypto-friendly.”

“We want to become part of the community and build a service platform together, to satisfy the opportunities arising from their current needs, pains, and priorities. Within the next 90 days, as we implement the required infrastructure, we will be adding additional services to our ‘crypto friendly account.’”

In a series of tweets and leaks from a blockchain meetup in Panama’s capital, Panama City, the bank is opening the floodgates to the crypto community. During the blockchain meetup hosted by the Chamber of Digital Commerce and Blockchain of Panama on Thursday, representatives from Towerbank invited crypto enthusiasts to open accounts at the bank.

Reportedly, Campa shared that crypto customers would not suffer “setbacks” that Panamanian citizens would ordinarily be subject to when executing crypto activities at the bank.

Cristobal Pereira, executive director of the Latam Blockchain Summit and an attendee of the meetup with Towerbank and Campa, shared, “Towerbank is crypto-friendly.” In a tweet, he stated that crypto enthusiasts can “come to open accounts and deposit withdrawals from exchanges without fear.”

Acá en Panamá en #meetup con @Towerbank y anuncian que son #crypto friendly, y pueden venir a abrir cuentas y depositar retiros desde exchanges sin miedo… primer banco en Latam que públicamente anuncia esto! Digno de compartir! pic.twitter.com/mVEKFfI8Uf

— Cristobal Pereira (@cristpereirag) May 26, 2022

On Saturday, Towerbank’s official Twitter account shared: “Hello, crypto community!” to confirm rumors that the Top 30 Panamanian bank had taken a shine to crypto enthusiasts in Latin America. The tweet has since been pinned to the profile.

¡Hola comunidad #Crypto !

— Towerbank (@Towerbank) May 28, 2022

Reportedly, crypto-related transactions are limited to up to $5,000 per month and the bank is not offering direct crypto to crypto services. To date, the move is a gesture to the crypto community that digital assets under a certain amount can be used at the bank without obstacles.

Towerbank has since retweeted tweets suggesting that customers will be able to link their crypto accounts, such as Binance, directly to their Towerbank bank accounts, but no official statement has been made.

A groundswell of pro-crypto sentiment has stirred in Panama, but the president announced in May that a crypto bill won’t land any time soon. For some commentators, the bank’s pro-crypto move is not only a means to undermine the poor reputation that crypto endures but also to diversify its customer base, expanding to the money-oriented crypto community.

When asked why the bank should introduce crypto services, Campa replied, “Why not?”

“They deserved it! This community is creating a new asset class and developing a revolutionary technology, all by themselves, with a huge potential to build a better future for all.”

Related: Paraguay paves the way for crypto regulation despite internal opposition

Finally, the bank drove home its Bitcoiner credentials when the Twitter account retweeted a meme created by Bitcoiner Aldo Antinori. In the tweet, Towerbank’s flagship construction, located in Panama City’s financial district, wears Bitcoin-appropriate laser eyes.

¡Buenísimo Aldo! Te quedó a otro nivel https://t.co/U0waaZtOd4

— Towerbank (@Towerbank) May 27, 2022

Cointelegraph has reached out to Towerbank for comment and will update the article as soon as possible.