In a first of its kind in the United States, the city of Miami, a metropolis located in southeastern Florida, has passed a resolution that would enable municipal workers to get paid in Bitcoin.
Francis Suarez, the mayor of Miami, made this known via an official tweet. He expressed gratitude to the Miami Commission for backing his proposal that would provide workers in the city with the option of receiving their salaries in cryptocurrency.
Exploring:
• State legislative priority
• Paying employees in Bitcoin
• Investing City treasury in BitcoinWe got it done ✅ pic.twitter.com/88laGvVbEG
— Mayor Francis Suarez (@FrancisSuarez) February 12, 2021
“I want to thank the City of Miami commissioners for supporting my resolution which directs the city manager, after analysis, to procure a vendor to be able to offer our employees to get a percentage of their salary in Bitcoin,” he said.
In addition to paying workers in Bitcoin, the new resolution also seeks to enable individuals in the city to pay taxes or make city payments using digital currency.
The resolution also “allows our residents to pay for fees in Bitcoin, and also would allow the city manager to cooperate with Miami-Dade county to allow for taxes to be paid in Bitcoin,” Suarez said.
Notably, the Miami commission approved Suarez’s crypto proposal 4-1. However, instead of immediately acting on the proposed request of Mayor Francis Suarez, the commission decided on studying the crypto-related proposals before granting necessary permission and hiring a vendor to help with transactions.
The resolution also asks the Florida state legislature to look at creating and passing laws that will allow the city of Miami to invest some of its treasury in Bitcoin.
New Resolution To Attract Tech Investors
The Miami mayor, who described Miami as a very “crypto-forward” city, noted that the new development would attract multinational technology firms to invest in the city.
In a interview with Reuters, Suarez disclosed that accepting Bitcoin as a medium of paying taxes, workers’ salaries, and several other things was part of a larger play. The goal is to place Miami as one of the most tech-friendly and forward cities in the U.S.
“I firmly believe that when and if Amazon and or Apple adopts Bitcoin as a payment structure the dam will essentially break because at that point you’re talking about a very high volume of transactions being able to use bitcoin,” Suarez said.
Suarez Setting an Example for Other Cities
Reacting to the Miami mayor’s announcement, Fred Ehrsam, co-founder of Coinbase, said the forward thinking mayor was setting an example for other cities to follow.
According to him, “Francis Suarez embraces the future. Setting the example for many forward thinking jurisdictions to follow.”
.@FrancisSuarez embraces the future. Setting the example for many forward thinking jurisdictions to follow. https://t.co/jWDJiIAKUt
— Fred Ehrsam (@FEhrsam) February 12, 2021
Antanas Guoga, popularly known as Tony G, also expressed his approval of the new development, stating that Miami’s mayor “is three steps ahead of the competition.”
The founder of the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange, Tyler Winklevoss, praised the decision in a statement. He said, “This is what leadership and vision look like. Miami under Mayor @FrancisSuarez is quickly becoming a major global #Bitcoin, crypto, and startup hub.”
Also applauding Mayor Francis Suarez’s decision to support Bitcoin is Twitter user Girl Gone Crypto. She said, “Can we take a moment to appreciate @FrancisSuarez 👏🏻 Over the years, the government hasn’t really been a friend to the #bitcoin community… and so it’s refreshing to see the mayor of a major city embracing cryptocurrencies and encouraging others to follow suit.”
Can we take a moment to appreciate @FrancisSuarez 👏🏻
Over the years, the government hasn't really been a friend to the #bitcoin community… and so it's refreshing to see the mayor of a major city embracing cryptocurrencies and encouraging others to follow suit.
— Girl Gone Crypto (@girlgone_crypto) February 12, 2021
Several other top crypto enthusiasts, via their official Twitter accounts, also applauded Suarez’s decision to embrace digital currency.
— jack (@jack) February 12, 2021
Turning Miami into a #Bitcoin City, with Miami @FrancisSuarez https://t.co/o8G6l1VF4t via @YouTube
— Charlie Shrem (@CharlieShrem) February 9, 2021
Similarly, Andrew Yang, who is currently running to be the next mayor of New York City, also praised the move, saying, “As mayor of NYC – the world’s financial capital – I would invest in making the city a hub for BTC and other cryptocurrencies.”
As mayor of NYC – the world’s financial capital – I would invest in making the city a hub for BTC and other cryptocurrencies.
— Andrew Yang🧢⬆️🇺🇸 (@AndrewYang) February 11, 2021
BTC Price
As of time of publication, Bitcoin price increased by 0.2% over the last 24 hours. It was trading at $48,105.14, with a 24-hour trading volume of $61,567,024,410 and market cap of $896,197,181,576.
Additionally, join Altcoin Buzz on Telegram to receive free trading signals.
For more cryptocurrency news, check out the Altcoin Buzz YouTube channel.
