Crypto mayors on the rise – TechCrunch

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Brooks Rainwater Contributor

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The prices of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies at large have skyrocketed in 2021. Stories abound about the pandemic-era crypto millionaires who made him wealthy in the industry.

The narrative of cryptocurrency is by design that of the private sector. Bitcoin and other crypto projects began with the intention of creating an immutable digital currency that is decentralized and could not be affected by the government’s monetary policy.

That said, in recent years – as the market grows to a value of $ 2 trillion – the public sector has grown increasingly interested, with the emergence of emerging regulations in some countries, outright bans in some countries. others and even mass adoption in a few.

The views of national governments – which print their own fiat currency – towards certain local governments can vary widely. Increasingly, a group of cities are seeing cryptocurrency as an opportunity to take advantage of the technological, financial and economic development potential of this new industry.

Admittedly, bitcoin, blockchain, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are not terms we often hear around town hall. But increasingly, they are found in cities like Miami, Tampa, New York, and Jackson, Tennessee, as the mayors of those cities have established a marker to enter the cryptocurrency realm. As an example of their intention, the mayors of the four cities recently agreed to take one or more of their paychecks in bitcoin.

As many stories about urban innovation do, it starts with a local leader leading the topic and challenging his fellow mayors. In this case, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez tweeted that he would take his next paycheck in bitcoin. Incoming New York City mayor Eric Adams has sought to outdo him, saying he will accept multiple bitcoin paychecks.

“Education is the best way to allay the fear and misunderstanding surrounding crypto, and I think that’s the root of what Mayor Adams and I do,” Suarez said. “If people see us diving head first, maybe it will give them the confidence to dip their toes in the water.

A mayor is certainly remarkable, and two mayors a role model. But with more than three mayors on the bitcoin train, it’s clearly a trend.

Mayor Scott Conger of Jackson, Tennessee – one of the youngest mayors elected by the city of about 70,000 – joined the friendly challenge and said he would also take a bitcoin paycheck. Conger and Suarez have been back and forth on Twitter about it – and Conger has broken new ground in the crypto space in his small town.

Not to be outdone, another Florida mayor also intervened. Mayor Jane Castor of Tampa announced that she would take a bitcoin paycheck at a cryptocurrency conference in her city a few days later. With Tampa recently crowned one of the best emerging tech cities and home to 25% of the state’s tech jobs, the alignment with this emerging field is up to the mark.

Conger noted that what Suarez does doesn’t have to be just a big city phenomenon – it can work in communities of all sizes. Seeing the interesting things happening in tech and cryptocurrency in big cities, he thought about how that might translate into a place like Jackson – and like any good mayor, he clearly had his eye on the economic development potential of his city.

“It doesn’t have to be Miami or a big city,” he said. “Jackson has the opportunity to do it. I mean, we were the first city in the state of Tennessee to have fiber-optic internet access to the house. Why can’t we be the first to adopt new technologies as they arise? ”

Jackson has super-fast internet service, which allows it to compete well with companies in the tech industry. As a result, its mayor sees cryptocurrency and decentralized finance (DeFi) companies as a natural outgrowth for the community.

“The space is wide open,” Conger noted. As the retail industry shrinks and the amount of physical space used by existing businesses shrinks, the mayor sees an opportunity. “As DeFi, crypto and tech companies start to appear, they’re going to need a place to go.”

Sending home the advantage he sees in his small community, Conger added, “Why go to a city with millions of people when you can come to a city with 70,000 people?”

This focus on economic development is shared by these four mayors, as well as other local leaders dipping their feet in the waters of cryptocurrency, as they reflect on the future of jobs in their cities. In Miami, this seems at the heart of the mayor’s efforts in the cryptocurrency space.

“Miami is built on a common theme, the people who come here are tired of being left behind – or worse – persecuted by their governments, and they come here looking for a better life and in return. , they make our city better, “said Suarez.” The Miami movement is about creating high-quality, well-paying jobs in our city – I want to prepare Miami for the future and create the next generation of leaders right here at me. “

This emphasis on attracting and retaining talent is significant in Miami and many other cities across the country. Whether in tech or finance – and in this case, crypto as a mix of the two – Miami is looking to develop these sectors.

“The Miami move is the result of a perfect storm of conditions that drove people to flock to Miami, but the push for a growing financial and tech sector has lasted for decades,” Suarez said. “It wasn’t as ‘spur of the moment’ as a lot of people think. Attracting innovation and growth to our city is a huge benefit to every Miamiian. “

We can only imagine what a place like New York may be able to do in the cryptocurrency industry due to its long-standing supremacy in finance and the growing strength of its tech industry. Likewise, Tampa has been on the rise for many years now, and with its growing ability to attract technological talent and economic potential, we might see an interesting differentiation starting to emerge as the cryptocurrency industry matures.

Which will be the first city to really play a significant role in the metaverse or maybe even to create a municipal NFT? With this kind of leadership happening at ground level, we’ll know soon enough that mayors will embrace the growth of this digital industry.

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