New York City’s new mayor, Eric Adams, says he will take his first three paychecks in Bitcoin and signaled his intention to make the city a “centre of the cryptocurrency industry.”
“NYC is going to be the centre of the cryptocurrency industry and other fast-growing, innovative industries! Just wait!” Adams wrote on Twitter.
The mayor-elect's Tweet came in response to Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who wrote in a Twitter message of his own that he would take his first paycheck in Bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency.
Suarez, who won re-election earlier this week, has been a cryptocurrency champion, setting his sights on building Miami into a hub for cryptocurrency innovation.
Adams will become the second black Mayor of America’s most populous city in January after easily defeating Republican Curtis Sliwa, founder of the Guardian Angels civilian safety patrol, in this week’s election.
Working with the non-profit CityCoins, the Florida city unveiled a cryptocurrency called “MiamiCoin” in August. CityCoins sends 30% of any MiamiCoin mined on a consumer's computer to the city. As of September, the program generated $7.1 million for Miami, the Washington Post newspaper has reported.
Efforts to transform New York into a cryptocurrency hub may draw scrutiny from New York Attorney General Letitia James, who recently launched a crackdown on unregistered cryptocurrency companies. Last week, James announced her candidacy for New York Governor.
Bitcoin, which is highly volatile, was trading around $61,250 yesterday, down 3% on the day.
