Another major metropolis is jumping headfirst into the world of crypto by investing in the digital space and proposing discounts for citizens paying taxes in Bitcoin (BTC). Rio de Janeiro, the South American city of almost 7 million people, now plans to invest 1% of its treasury funds into crypto. According to Brazilian newspaper O […]
The post Major City Investing One-Percent of Its Treasury in Crypto, Mulling Possible Bitcoin Tax Discount appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
During the first week of November, the reelected Miami mayor Francis Suarez explained that he would receive part of his salary in bitcoin via the payment processor Strike. A month later, speaking at Real Vision’s Takeover event in Las Vegas, Suarez revealed he plans to take part of his 401k in bitcoin as well. Pro-Bitcoin […]
The race to establish America’s biggest crypto hub is intensifying, with Miami emerging as a front-runner by generating millions of dollars in yield from staking Miami Coin.
Every Miami resident with a digital wallet will be eligible to receive a Bitcoin dividend according to Mayor Francis Suarez.
“We’re going to be the very first city in America to give Bitcoin yield as a dividend directly to its residents,” Suarez said in an interview on Nov. 11.
Citycoins launched the MiamiCoin cryptocurrency in August, which helps fund municipal projects by generating yield.
Staking MiamiCoin has generated yields in excess of $21 million for the city. Its reserve wallet converts MiamiCoin deposits into USD based on commands from city officials. Suarez said that if yields continue at that rate, it’s possible that they could entirely cover the city’s tax needs.
“Why don’t you just tax people less?”
Why don't you just tax people less? https://t.co/YXQGZlsPKI
— Parker Lewis (@parkeralewis) November 11, 2021
However, residents will not have to own any MiamiCoin in order to be eligible for the free BTC.
“We’re going to create digital wallets for our residents,” said Suarez. “And we’re going to give them Bitcoin directly from the yield of MiamiCoin.”
He said the ultimate aim was to get Bitcoin into the hands of more and more people.
As far as local lawmakers go, Suarez is one of Bitcoin’s biggest proponents. Just last week, Suarez and New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced they were going to be accepting their next paychecks in Bitcoin. Their pledge was quickly matched by Jane Castor, the Mayor of Tampa Bay, Florida.
In February, Mayor Suarez announced plans to turn the City of Miami into a major cryptocurrency hub by enacting the “most progressive crypto laws.” Fittingly, this year’s Bitcoin conference was held in Miami, attracting the largest crowd in the annual event’s history.
Related: Civic engagement and crypto: Miami unveils its own digital coin
Following Suarez’s announcement, Miami Coin price jumped 18% to a daily high of $0.02369489 according to Coingecko.
Cointelegraph has reached out to the Mayor’s office for more information.
“We're glad to welcome you to the global home of Web3!” said crypto-friendly Mayor-elect Eric Adams in response to CityCoins' roll out of the NYCCoin this week.
The NYCCoin is set to launch on Nov. 11 with the community-led proposal endorsed by New York City’s Mayor-elect Eric Adams.
The NY-focused cryptocurrency is being launched by CityCoins, the same firm that provides the MiamiCoin. The project utilizes the Stacks Protocol built atop of the Bitcoin blockchain to enable smart contracts and issue its coins.
CityCoins tweeted on Nov. 9 that it was activating NYCCoin mining this week after Adams stated on Nov. 4 that he wanted to have a “CityCoin for NYC” like in the case of Miami City.
Adams followed that up earlier today by posting that “we're glad to welcome you to the global home of Web3! We're counting on tech and innovation to help drive our city forward.”
We're glad to welcome you to the global home of Web3! We're counting on tech and innovation to help drive our city forward. https://t.co/SY9pv1Ebct
— Eric Adams (@ericadamsfornyc) November 8, 2021
Adams was elected as the NYC Mayor on Nov. 2 and will take the reins at the start of 2022. The 61-year-old Democrat is a strong crypto proponent and has vowed to take his first three paychecks in Bitcoin (BTC) and has advocated for crypto education to be taught in local schools.
“We must open our schools to teach the technology, to teach this new way of thinking,” Adams said on CNN’s State of the Union on Nov. 7.
In Miami, the city’s commissioners voted to accept funds generated from Miami Coin, however CityCoins notes that it is yet to officially partner with the NY government despite the social media endorsement from Adams.
“CityCoins like NYCCoin are grassroots initiatives. As communities grow around CityCoins, they can encourage their mayor to claim the reserved city treasury wallet and begin putting its funds to use,“ the website reads.
Related: Law Decoded: Which currency is the paycheck of your city’s mayor in? Nov. 1–7
If the City of New York agrees to partner with CityCoins, it will have access to a custodied reserve wallet that holds 30% of all NYCCoin mining rewards. The funds can be used to support whatever initiatives the City deems fit. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has stated the coin's funds will go toward crypto education, funding under-privileged communities and programs to mitigate the risks of climate change.
NYCCoin users can mine the coin by forwarding Stacks (STX) tokens into the smart contract on Stacks, and receive new CityCoin tokens, with 70% of the mining rewards going to users who lock up and “stack” or stake their CityCoins.
