Miami, New York and Rio de Janeiro compete with each other for the title of “Bitcoin City”, a name with which they seek to be identified as global innovation centers. The mayors of these three cities have decided to join the crypto adoption, to attract investment, talent and companies to their territories. Miami and New York already have their own cryptocurrencies: MiamiCoin and NYCCoin, developed by City Coin. Both cities have expressed their desire to become mining centers. Rio de Janeiro has just joined the party and has also announced plans to develop a cryptocurrency, to be called RioCoin. Tampa (Florida) and Jackson (Tennessee) are also doing the same. These five cities add up to more than 32 million people
New York, “Bitcoin City”
Francis Suarez, Miami
Francis Suarez is determined to make Miami a flagship city for Bitcoin. Currently, it promotes various plans and strategies to ensure that the city of palm trees is up to the technological and financial innovation of blockchain and crypto assets. In March 2021, he ensured that the city would become a global benchmark BTC mining hub.
The mayor of Miami will receive his salary entirely in bitcoin
During an interview with journalist Laura Shin, Suarez revealed that Miami can produce clean energy on a large scale, to supply the Bitcoin miners currently operating in the city. As well as to open new mining centers. Last June, Suarez invited miners migrating from China to relocate to his territory. The claim used was the great advantages offered by the city to operate with nuclear energy. In June 2021, He said told CNBC that the city was working to reduce the cost of electricity, in order to attract Bitcoin miners.
Suarez was the first American mayor to commit to receiving his salary in Bitcoin. In November of last year, he announced that he would receive his salary entirely in BTC and proposed the payment of municipal taxes with this cryptocurrency. Later in December, he indicated that he would receive his retirement in BTC. Miami was the first city to launch a city coin, called MiamiCoin. It is a cryptocurrency developed on the Stacks smart contract protocol, based on the Bitcoin chain. To date, this cryptocurrency has generated more than 24 million dollars.
Eric Adams, New York
The Big Apple, as New York City is known, also intends to become a global Bitcoin hub. This was promised by its current mayor, Eric Adams, when he won the elections last November. Adams, following in Suarez’s footsteps, has said that New York will become a hub for innovation and development and will be at the forefront of all new changes. As part of that goal, the mayor of New York City has pledged to receive his first three salaries in bitcoin. Fulfilling that promise, Adams received his first BTC payment yesterday.
Pro-Bitcoin Mayors Fashion: New York Already Has Eric Adams
The mayor of New York published a release on the city’s official website to report that his first salary check would be converted into BTC, through the North American exchange Coinbase. Adams has also said that he will convert a portion of his salary into ETH, the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum network. The regulations of the United States Department of the Treasury prevent receiving payments in cryptocurrencies directly. Hence, the need to use a platform to carry out the exchange.
Through cryptocurrencies, Eric Adams wants to contribute to bridging the gap between the traditional and digital financial systems. Like his colleague Francis, Eric wants the city that never sleeps to become a global reference for cryptocurrencies and other financial innovations. Adams’ strategy is to use the traction of cryptocurrencies to promote the development and consolidation of New York as a leader in technological innovation.
New York also has its own cryptocurrency. It is called NYCCoin and, like the one in Miami, it has been developed by City Coin. New York also aspires to become a reference center for bitcoin mining.
New York, like Miami, will also have its own cryptocurrency
Eduardo Paes, Rio de Janeiro
Eduardo Paes, mayor of Rio de Janeiro, has been one of the last mayors to speak out in favor of Bitcoin. During Rio Innovation Week, Paes noted that his city will invest up to 1% of its municipal treasury in bitcoin. The mayor assured that cryptocurrency was key to transforming the city into a technological hub, due to its potential as an investment asset and value reserve.
Paes assured that the city will promote the adoption, development and growth of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, as tools to empower citizens through technology. The mayor explained that the city had become one of the preferred places for cryptocurrency companies in Brazil. Recently, Hashdex, a Rio-based fund management company, announced the launch of the first DeFi ETF in Latin America. It has been listed on the Brazilian stock market since last Wednesday.
Paes has created a working group to explore the opportunities provided by the crypto industry and assess how he can take advantage of this innovation. Its intention is to promote the use and adoption of BTC in the city as a new digital money.
Scott Conger, Jackson
Another of the mayors who has joined the adoption of Bitcoin is Scott Conger, mayor of Jackson (Tennessee). Conger revealed his enthusiasm for Bitcoin last November, reporting on his account at Twitter that he would follow in the footsteps of Francis Suarez and receive his salary in Bitcoin. Although Jackson laws prevent Conger from receiving bitcoins directly, he said he would convert his checks to cryptocurrency as soon as he received them.
To encourage adoption, Conger has said that his citizens will be able to convert their salaries into bitcoins. An initiative that will attract investment to Jackson, encouraging exchanges and exchange platforms to settle in the city. Conger wants Jackson to be the first city in the United States to allow its citizens to legally exchange their salaries for bitcoin.
Conger has also created a working group to explore ways to integrate bitcoin into Jackson. At the moment, one of the proposals presented by the mayor has been to accept the payment of municipal taxes in BTC. The adoption and implementation of blockchain is also proposed as a key element to build a more just, balanced and egalitarian future. The Mayor of Jackson trust on the disruptive potential of this technology to fight inflation and grow your local economy.
Jane Castor, Tampa
In Tampa (Florida), its mayor, Jane Castor, He said in November that the city was poised to be the next big entry point for the innovation that Bitcoin brings. Castor noted that Tampa has the necessary attributes to become a leading Bitcoin city. Just as it is in the field of sports, commerce and technology.
Castor promised to receive her salary as mayor in bitcoin, to encourage the use of this cryptocurrency and boost the economy of her city. Nuke Goldstein, CTO of Celsius, is the one who helps the mayor in this goal. In Tampa, several businesses already accept payments in bitcoins and other crypto assets.
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