Miami and New York are in a race to become the top crypto cities in the US. Leading the battle fronts are the cities’ mayors, who are leaving nothing to chance. The competition played out in the open on Twitter following a friendly banter between New York mayor-elect Eric Adams and his Miami counterpart Francis Suarez.
In a tweet, Francis Suarez pledged to take 100% of his first salary in Bitcoin. In reply to Suarez, Adams said he would take the first three months’ salary in Bitcoin. It is not the first time he is advocating for Bitcoin adoption. After winning a nomination for mayor, he said that he would make New York a center for the crypto industry and other growing industries. Suarez replied in a friendly rejoinder, “I look forward to the friendly competition in making our respective cities a crypto capital.”
Eric is serving the second term after re-election while Adams is set to begin his first term after 72% on a democratic ticket.
Bitcoin Proponents
Both governors are prominent crypto crusaders. While Adam is adamant about making New York the crypto hub, Suarez intends to make Miami a city with the most progressive crypto laws in the United States.
Miami and New York have set precedent in crypto space events and policies. In August, the City of Miami announced a collaboration with CityCoins non-governmental organization to develop MiamiCoin. This coin has performed so far extremely well and according to the latest crypto predictions, MiamiCoin is forecasted to reach the 0.03 USD mark before the end of 2021.
What is interesting about the coin for Miami is that the city receives 30% of the mined cryptocurrency. CityCoins offers an open-sourced protocol known as Stacks (STX), enabling traders to mine and hold MiamiCoin. According to the mayor, the coin has earned the city about $21 billion in three months. The Bitcoin yield could be shared as dividends to residents by liaising with crypto exchanges to distribute digital wallets.
Suarez has also floated the idea of using nuclear power to mine Bitcoin and making the city tax-free by using Bitcoin proceeds to clever its costs.
Recent developments show acceptance of Miami as a crypto hub. FXT recently received naming rights of the county arena through a sponsorship deal of $200 million. The biggest Bitcoin conference also moved from Los Angeles to Miami. The governor plans to make Miami the most crypto-friendly city by providing mining energy and building a comprehensive ecosystem that makes it a crypto hub.
Kyle Davies, a senior market analyst at Oanda, replied that the developments showed that cryptocurrencies attracted massive interest. Aron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers quarterback, recently announced he would take his NFL salary in cryptocurrencies. This occurs as the US congress is working on laws to capture tax in billions from cryptocurrencies.
The idea of eliminating taxes or paying residents dividends is good, but its practicality is something we are yet to see. Well, the devil is in the details, as this will involve going through the legal hurdles of paying employees or receiving taxes in Bitcoin.
Final Words
The friendly competition between Miami and New York is commendable. At the bare minimum, it will boost crypto adoption in the two cities. Remember, New York is the most populous. With the leaders spearheading crypto developments, digital currencies have a bright future in the two cities and beyond.
