Brazilian mayor to invest 1% of city reserves in Bitcoin

[ad_1]

Eduardo Paes, mayor of the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, wants to allocate 1% of the city’s treasury to Bitcoin (BTC), Cointelegraph Brazil reported.

Paes reportedly announced his intention to “Crypto Rio,” or turn the city into a cryptocurrency hub during Rio Innovation Week on Thursday, according to a report by local news agency O Globo.

The mayor spoke about Rio’s cryptocurrency ambitions during a panel with Miami Mayor and Bitcoin bull Francis Suarez, who began accepting his BTC paychecks in November 2021.

“We will launch Crypto Rio and invest 1% of the cash in cryptocurrency. The government has a role to play, ”Paes reportedly said, adding that the state is also planning to introduce tax exemptions for the industry.

The panel also included top Brazilian officials like city finance secretary Pedro Paulo, who noted that the administration was considering a 10% reduction in Brazilian property tax on payments with Bitcoin. “Let’s study the legal framework to do this,” he said.

Related: ‘Mecca of Mining’: Brazil Considering Zero Tax on Green Bitcoin Mining

The news comes as the Brazilian government increasingly warms its stance on Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency industry, with MP Luizão Goulart proposing a bill to legalize crypto as a payment method for workers in the public and private sectors in November. In December, MercadoPago, a large crypto payments company in Brazil, allowed Brazilian residents to buy, sell and hold major cryptocurrencies like BTC and Ether (ETH).

[ad_2]