IMO, it is very significant. Panama is a MAJOR international banking center -- workng to become, effectively, the "Switzerland" of Latin America. It has great power because it requires any ship passing through the canal to pay CASH on the barrelhead -- and I believe cash is currently only in US dollars. That is, primarily, what keeps all those banks anchored there.
If Panama city, the largest city in Panama, starts accepting bitcoin it is probably in preparation for Panama itself to start accepting bitcoin as an alternate to the US dollar, sidestepping the dollar entirely. FWIW, currently the Panamanian currency, the Balboa is tied 1:1 to the dollar and dollars are accepted in any combination with Panamanian Balboas. (So you submit dollars and get a mix of dollars and Balboas in change.
As I tried to explain a bit in my comments re Bitcoin, Bitcoin is in a weird hybrid status around the world. You can contract in terms of Bitcoin in many countries But you can't easily exchange between Bitcoin and any other local or foreign currency -- certainly not in large quantities. San Salvadore tried to set itself up as the first country to really allow Bitcoin to be recognized fully (or even preferentially)as legal tender -- but had to back down significantly about a year ago, due to pressure from the IMF (US controlled international financial gangster organization, my opinion).
So what "contains" Bitcoin from becoming actually PREFERRED to USD in international trade (without exchange fees) is a couple of signficant countries where Bitcoin (or any USD alternate) can be easily exchanged for local currency.
That day is coming closer all the time. Panama City accepting Bitcoin in place of dollars would take the country as a whole a significant distance toward accepting Bitcoin in addition to dollars for any and all international trade deals, including eventual Panama Canal access.
And once a couple of countries open up the spigots to Bitcoin I'd expect it to very quickly tip to becoming preferred over US dollars. Which cannot be "sanctioned" nor constrained as a weapon of pressure and war. The US doing that during Briben's years was idiotic beyond measure, and likely to boomerang -- as I said very dramatically in early 2022.
I was just trying to find some plausible numbers to give an idea how much USD is effectively held outside the US strictly in international trade. I am being blocked in my search right now, but trust me it is a monumental amount. And it being dropped like a hot potato, in favor ANYTHING else, would be like a thermonuclear bomb being dropped on the US economy -- near instant impoverishment of the US average person on a level which is difficult to overstate in terms of collapsing standard of living WITHIN the US. I wouldn't be surprised with a 50% drop in standard of living almost overnight WITHIN the US. And, within a year or three, maybe a 90% "evaporation" of wealth ... or more.
Just try that on for a second: maybe you need 99X the "dollars" you needed last year in order to buy anything internationally sourced: like coffee, medicine, light-bulbs, N95 masks ;-), repair parts for your HVAC or heating system, etc. etc. etc. It just goes on and on, beyond most peoples' comprehension, how hosed we are if we don't complete this conversion before "the bomb" gets dropped.
USD abandonment is already well underway. But that gives us no idea of how devastating that could be for the average entitled American. I'm trying to pin down a number, but numbers are counted differently by different parties. AND MOST OF THE DOLLARS USED INTERNATIONALLY ARE NOT EVEN FORMALLY RECOGNIZED AS EXISTING...THEY ARE JUST NUMBERS ON CONTRACTS.
But let's start with this:
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › International_use_of_the_U.S._dollar
International use of the U.S. dollar - Wikipedia
The U.S. dollar is widely held by central banks, foreign companies and private individuals worldwide, in the form of eurodollar foreign deposit accounts (not to be confused with the euro), as well as in the form of US$100 notes, an estimated 75% of which are held overseas. [1]
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BullionStar
https://www.bullionstar.com › blogs › jp-koning › how-much-u-s-currency-is-held-overseas
How Much U.S. Currency is Held Overseas? - BullionStar Singapore
Given that the Federal Reserve had issued about $1.5 trillion in currency by that time, the remaining $900 billion in notes must have been held overseas. This amounted to about 60% of all American banknotes (see solid black line above in chart 6A). Judson further estimates that around 70% of all $100
So Americans are conservatively positioned to lose, CONSERVATIVELY, 70% of the purchasing power of their life savings, pensions, etc. approximately over-night But, due the roll of shadow dollars in shadow banking, it could -- I can imagine -- be more like a 90% "evaporation" of wealth.
"Well to do" Americans may find themselves eating dog-food for dinner; doing without critical medicines (e.g., dying); and up to their eyeballs in a kinetic war the US hasn't the money to win. We are bankrupt, people. And this is huge beyond any reasonable attempt to measure, as it is not just super large numbers we are playing with but, even worse, VERY complex international trade agreements and contracts for purchase.
And it's gong to happen, for sure. The only thing I think we might be able to control is speed of the happening. A slower speed loss of 70-90% of living standard might give us a chance to adapt, on-shore manufacturing of critical supplies, etc. And that is what we should be aiming for.
And it is with that backstory I made my suggestion of the US "hot swapping" the definition of the dollar in advance of such a thermonuclear explosion in our financial world / standard of living.
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http://globalbanks.com/list-of-banks-in-panama/
There are 55 bank brands in Panama City. 13 International, 2 state owned, plus 40 others serving various functions and disparate clients.
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