New York mayor-elect Eric Adams wants to be paid in Bitcoin. Terrible idea!

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A long, long time ago — Tuesday to be exact — I went to the polls to vote for a new mayor of New York. I dabbled in Eric Adams without really thinking about it. What were my other choices, the bully red beret dude who fought poll workers in the very election he was trying to win while holding his cat? I love my politicians with a crazy touch, but Curtis Sliwa’s mad-eyed vigilantism seemed a bridge too far. And despite rumors that Adams was terribly comfortable with various financial interests in real estate and finance in New York City – and that, strangely enough, no one seems to know precisely where he lives – it seemed, in the great tradition of recent US elections as the least bad option.

Two days later, Mayor-elect Adams proudly proclaimed on Twitter that he would accept his first three paychecks in Bitcoin. He had to, you see, because the other mayor of “Bitcoin bro,” Francis Suarez of Miami, had previously said he would take one of his paychecks into the volatile cryptocurrency. Ever since Adams had previously pledged to make New York City the center of crypto innovation – whatever that might mean – his ego had been put to the test. It was time to outdo his fellow Bitcoin worshiper from South Florida.

In New York, we’re always going big, so I’ll be taking my first THREE Bitcoin paychecks when I become mayor. NYC is going to be the center of the cryptocurrency industry and other fast growing innovative industries! Hold on!

– Eric Adams (@ericadamsfornyc) November 4, 2021

Aside from the fact that, no, you can’t actually tell your employer what currency you’re paid in (“I would like my fees for this item to be in duplicate gold please, Slate” ), it was always embarrassing stupidity to move on the part of the incoming mayor. Expect there to be publicity by all means – his post was probably appreciated by visitors in town this week for an NFT conference – and the bragging is just normal. But the crypto gloss that overlaps municipal politics is something relatively new and more than a little unsettling. Swearing allegiance to the cult of Bitcoin, promising to become a low-tax crypto playground, laying out the red carpet for venture capitalists investing in this industry is quickly becoming table stakes for mayors. at the cutting edge of technology. As well as showing a general obsequiousness to the tech industry and ignorance of people’s real financial issues, it’s worth thinking about the examples given by Adams, Suarez, and their peers. The message comes down to this: I’m going to take my public paycheck and bet it on a speculative store of value, and so should you! And to further grease the journey into the crypto-gaming dystopia, Adams even wants New York to establish its own cryptocurrency, as Miami recently did with MiamiCoin.

Pledging allegiance to the cult of Bitcoin, promising to become a low-tax crypto playground, laying out the red carpet for venture capitalists investing in the industry are quickly becoming table stakes for companies. mayors at the cutting edge of technology.

Adams’ motivations are unclear, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Wall Street loves a good party (volatility is king and crypto has a lot) and that Adams wants to keep those with deep pockets. happy. It still doesn’t make it a good idea for a government official to promote gambling with their full salary in what is essentially an unlicensed, unregulated casino. Like many barely-considered crypto companies, Adams’s booming Bitcoin booster is dumb and it will end badly. Whenever the crypto bubble bursts – the recent stablecoin report released by the Biden administration may have signaled the ‘last call’ to those who pay attention – ordinary people who have invested / gambled in crypto are likely to be the ones who hold the bag. The least we can ask the leader of our city is not to encourage such irresponsible behavior, especially since, for people at the bottom of the economic ladder, playing the crypto lottery is already tempting enough. And just like the lottery, statistically speaking, it’s a loser’s game.

Sadly, despite huge compensating signals that something is seriously wrong with this industry – federal criminal investigations, regulatory fines, the seemingly endless number of scams – the crypto bubble is only growing, now hovering around 2.7 trillion. of dollars. (Whether all that funny digital money is actually worth $ 2.7 trillion – or closer to zero – is a whole other question, but just as important.) This same magazine!). If you watch sports, you’ve probably been inundated with ads from Matt Damon telling you, the couch-locked fan, that if you don’t do your best and buy crypto, you’re a coward with no sense of fate. (Think I’m not charitable? Just watch the ad.) Crypto is being sold, rather deceptively, as a fun, futuristic get-rich-quick opportunity with almost no downside. The next mayor seems happy to take this line.

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Despite its often populist messaging, crypto has a lot of money behind it. Last week, The New York Times ran an article about Andreessen Horowitz – a leading venture capital firm that has invested billions of dollars in crypto startups – bombarding Capitol Hill with pre-written, pro-friendly invoices. industry presented by skillful business leaders (some of whom were only recently hired into government regulatory positions). There’s a lot of other money and influence splashing around. This Matt Damon ad is part of a $ 100 million Crypto.com campaign that will feature other celebrities and professional athletes. This week, nearly three years to the day after being fined hundreds of thousands of dollars by the Securities and Exchange Commission for his role in promoting a cryptocurrency scam, boxer Floyd Mayweather has unveiled a purchasable token based on his name. It might sound a little silly (and rude), but to keep things in perspective, one of the biggest stories in the industry this week was about a man who lost a million dollars from NFT’s “Bored Ape”. This is all very bizarre, but the possibility of fresh money – even fun digital money – can be intoxicating for a quirky and eager to please waiting mayor.

We have big problems in this city that Adams, as a black man, former cop, and victim of NYPD abuse as a minor, is undoubtedly aware of. Let’s focus on these — COVID, roaming, how to get rid of BQE, to name a few. But if we are to reduce income inequality, which Adams claims to want to do, more gambling is not the answer. But just as a thought experiment, if you really believe in this crypto stuff, Mayor-elect Adams, why not agree in writing to convert all your paychecks for as long as you serve in Bitcoin, regardless of the price. that it can decrease in the future? It would be a commitment, a test to see if all this crypto cult is just a performance designed to appeal to tech donors or something that you really believe in.

Either way, I doubt Sliwa’s economic agenda was more inspiring or grounded in the concerns of everyday New Yorkers. He also promised to make New York a crypto city. But at least he loves cats.

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