New York’s next mayor Eric Adams wants to make his city the crypto hub. As part of his plan, he will take his salary in Bitcoin after he assumes office in January.
"In New York, we always go big, so I’m going to take my first three paychecks in Bitcoin when I become mayor," Adams tweeted on Thursday. It is, however, unclear if the mayor-elect can accept payment in Bitcoin.
According to Evan Thies, Adams' campaign spokesperson, the mayor-elect will convert his salary into Bitcoin through an exchange, Politico reported.
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On Tuesday, mayor of Miami Francis Suarez had also tweeted he would take his first paycheck in Bitcoin. Suarez, a cryptocurrency champion, has been vying to make Miami a hub for the crypto industry.
Adams, a Democrat who became the second Black mayor of the largest city in the US, has been competing with Suarez to transform his city into the crypto capital of the world.
Suarez’s progressive crypto policies have attracted venture firms, start-ups, and crypto exchanges that have set up additional offices or relocated to Miami.
In February, Suarez had announced that employees in Miami would be allowed to draw their salaries in Bitcoin. The city would also accept tax payments in the cryptocurrency. In June, Miami hosted Bitcoin 2021 that was billed as the biggest Bitcoin event in history. The conference was attended by thousands of Bitcoin enthusiasts.
Miami also unveiled a cryptocurrency called MiamiCoin in August in collaboration with the non-profit organisation CityCoins. Since the city agreed to accept donations in MiamiCoin from September 13, the program has generated about $7.1 million for Miami, the Washington Post reported.
"Eric Adams is not a very influential person for swaying the people that are on the fence to join the cryptoverse," a senior market analyst at FX broker Oandam Edward Moya told Reuters.
After being nominated by the Democratic party for mayor in June, Adams had said he wished to make the city “the center of all the technology."
On Wednesday, Adams said he would look at all aspects that prevented cryptocurrency growth in New York. Adams may, however, face hurdles on the way with New York Attorney General Letitia James recently launching a crackdown on unregistered cryptocurrency companies. Last week, James said she would contend for the post of New York governor.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin prices have soared to $61,400 this year, according to CoinDesk. It was trading at 62,442.26 on Binance when this story was published.
(Edited by : Jomy Jos Pullokaran)
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