Newly elected New York City Mayor Eric Adams made headlines recently when he said he plans to take his first three paychecks in bitcoin.
And he’s not the first mayor in the U.S. to request payment in crypto. Adams’ comment came a few days after Francis Suarez, the mayor of Miami (and friend of Adams), announced he wants his next paycheck paid in bitcoin.
The news that two of America’s highest-profile mayors want to be paid in bitcoin generated a combination of cheers and criticism.
But the bigger story here is the direction that mayors like Adams want to move their economies. When it comes to cryptocurrencies, the new mayor of New York City has much bigger plans for his city and community…
In addition to being paid in bitcoin, Adams is encouraging the city’s businesses to accept cryptos as a form of payment.
Think about that for a moment.
There are over 200,000 businesses in NYC. And the new mayor wants consumers to have the option to use bitcoin (and other cryptocurrencies, possibly) to pay for goods and services.
Adams’ comments were pretty straightforward. He explained bitcoin as, “a new way of paying for goods and services throughout the entire globe.”
It’s still too early to know the details of Adams’ economic policies. (He’s barely had time to move into the mayor’s office.) But he’s obviously pro-crypto… and has the power to push the crypto adoption trend along even faster.
Based on the mayor’s early comments, he’s not looking to force or pressure businesses (or consumers) to use crypto. He said he wants to “tread carefully” and “get it right” when it comes to encouraging companies and consumers to use crypto as a form of payment.
Adams isn’t shy about his upbeat vision for NYC. He wants it to be a “center of innovation, no matter what the innovation is.” In other words, he’s open to new ideas and new trends.
In fact, Adams said he wants the NYC school system to teach kids about blockchain technology and digital assets. He commented, “We must open our schools to teach the technology, to teach this new way of thinking.”
Adams’ plans are another glaring example of how the crypto adoption trend keeps gaining speed.
I’ve highlighted this trend repeatedly over the past year. Back in January, I wrote about the growing usage of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in Las Vegas. I’ve also noted how some of Wall Street’s biggest, oldest banks are expanding into crypto. And two months ago, I highlighted El Salvador becoming the first country to recognize bitcoin as legal tender.
If you’re not impressed by a small country in Central America adopting bitcoin… you should be. And you should definitely take note when the mayor of the biggest city in the U.S. starts pounding the table on crypto.
Keep in mind, New York City has a population over 8 million and represents about $1.5 trillion of economic activity (more than 7% of the total U.S. economy).
Again, it’s too early to predict how Adams will implement his vision for the city. I’ll be watching this story closely to see his progress. I expect more major cities to follow mayor Adams—especially as elected officials see the success Miami is having with crypto.
Nevertheless, it’s obvious bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are slowly becoming a bigger part of our everyday lives (especially as it becomes easier to buy, sell, and use crypto).
While the price of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies continue to bounce up and down… the crypto adoption trend is steadily pushing ahead.
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