Mayors of New York and Miami To Take Pay in Bitcoin

The new Mayor of New York City, Eric Adams (pictured) wants to attract cryptocurrency businesses and is willing to set an example by receiving three months of pay in Bitcoins.

Adams was responding to Mayor Francis Suarez of Miami, who offered to become the first US politician to be paid in Bitcoin.

However, neither Mayor can claim to be the leading political champion of Bitcoin within the Americas. That title goes to President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador, who this year overcame all the objections to making Bitcoin legal tender within his country.

Many remain skeptical about cryptocurrencies. It is reasonable to observe that there is a big difference between buying currency as an investment and using it to purchase goods and services. The valuation of cryptocurrencies has been driven by speculation so far, and very few people use Bitcoin for trade, even though it is easily the largest cryptocurrency by value. However, any currency can potentially be used for both investment and exchange; forex speculation long predates the invention of digital currencies.

Cryptocurrencies are inherently networked, so mass adoption promises minimal transaction fees especially when transferring money across borders. Opponents of cryptocurrency focus on the desire of criminals to hide their identities, but the use of a public ledger also makes some kinds of error, dispute and crime impossible. The rate of adoption will be greatly encouraged if more governments follow the example of El Salvador by accepting cryptocurrency for payment of taxes. Cryptocurrency use will further accelerate if workers start to receive it as pay. Mayor Adams and Mayor Suarez are engaging in political theater by promising to be paid in Bitcoin for short periods, but they are signaling their willingness to see cryptocurrency move from the margins to the mainstream.

Eric Priezkalns
Eric Priezkalnshttp://revenueprotect.com

Eric is the Editor of Commsrisk. Look here for more about the history of Commsrisk and the role played by Eric.

Eric is also the Chief Executive of the Risk & Assurance Group (RAG), an association of professionals working in risk management and business assurance for communications providers. RAG was founded in 2003 and Eric was appointed CEO in 2016.

Previously Eric was Director of Risk Management for Qatar Telecom and he has worked with Cable & Wireless, T‑Mobile, Sky, Worldcom and other telcos. He was lead author of Revenue Assurance: Expert Opinions for Communications Providers, published by CRC Press.

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