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Miami Mayor Embraces Chinese Bitcoin Miners

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said the city welcomes Chinese Bitcoin miners as a new home for Bitcoin mining, CNBC reported Thursday.

‘Hey, we want you to be here,” Suarez, the republican mayor and one of the most crypto-friendly politicians in the U.S., accepted an interview from CNBC Thursday, said the city open doors to Bitcoin miners amid the recent crackdown of Bitcoin mining activities.

Since China’s regulators tighten domestic Bitcoin mining and illegal energy generation activities, many Chinese Bitcoin miners are reportedly migrating out of China. It is estimated over 50% of Bitcoin miners come from China. According to CNBC’s coverage, Texas could be one of the favour destinations among cheap electricity supply and crypto-friendly states in the U.S.

Bitcoin mining requires stable internet connections and high-efficiency processors to support this energy-intensive and highly demanding process. Suarez said Miami enjoys nuclear power as a clean and inexpensive energy source, hoping that the city will attract more investment and create more jobs.

“We understand how important this is…miners want to get to a certain kilowatt price per hour. And so we’re working with them on that; We want to make sure that our city has an opportunity to compete,”

Suarez emphasized he has not received any personal calls from Chinese BTC miners and admits his ambition cannot achieve overnight. Yet, he is optimistic and believes that the city can meet the needs of bitcoin miners by promoting its unlimited and cheap nuclear power supply.

His administration also considers various incentives for developing crypto mining, including establishing enterprise zones with tax concessions, infrastructure incentives and scaled-back regulations for crypto mining.

Nuclear energy dominates the second-biggest source after natural gas of generating power across the Florida State. Miami is already in negotiations with state enterprises on how to drive down the price of energy.

Similarly, El Salvador considers using a volcanic-power energy generation system to resolve the energy sustainability issue since the central American country became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as flat money.

Mayor of Miami Francis Suarez Accepts Paycheck 100% in Bitcoin

Francis Suarez, an American attorney and politician serving as the 43rd Mayor of Miami, announced on Twitter on Tuesday that his next salary will be received in Bitcoin (BTC).

In his posting, Francis Suarez stated that he will become the first American lawmaker to accept bitcoin as a salary payment.

According to the Miami Herald, the mayor of Miami’s annual salary is $187,500.

According to Coinmarketcap, bitcoin has risen by 3.53% in the past 24 hours. At the time of writing, bitcoin was trading at $63,061.43. In accordance with the current bitcoin price, Francis Suarez’s total salary is valued at about 3 BTC.

Francis Suarez seems more hopeful that his salary will be converted into Bitcoin through the use of Fintech Strike or Bitwage.

His innovation deputy Mike Sarasti responded to a Strike registration link on his Twitter. Mike Sarasti stated that in his experience, receiving a portion of my pay last week went flawlessly.

As early as February 2 this year, Mayor of Miami Francis Suarez stated that Bitcoin will be the “biggest story for the next few years,” Mayor Suarez himself, also owns both BTC and Ether (ETH) in his personal name.

Under the leadership of Francis Suarez, Miami is planning to put some of the city’s treasury into Bitcoin. This sets Miami to become the first city in the US and in the world to place some of the city’s treasury into the leading cryptocurrency.

Miami actively implements digital asset payments in the real estate industry. As reported by Blockchain.News on May 07, 2021, Arte by Antonio Citterio, a high-end luxury condominium located in Miami, announced to accept cryptocurrency as a payment method for luxury residences and developments.

In June, the famous French DJ David Guetta also revealed that he would accept $14 million Bitcoin or Ethereumthe payment for selling his Miami beachfront apartment.

Miami Plans to Distribute "Bitcoin Yields" To Local Residents

Miami wants to become the first city in the United States to give a Bitcoin yield to its residents.

Francis Suarez, the current mayor of Miami and a strong crypto advocate announced on November 11 that Miami plans to share with its residents some of the gains being made from the city’s new cryptocurrency. He said that the city is working on a way to create digital wallets that would enable the distribution of the Bitcoin yield to residents of the city.

In August, Miami launched a cryptocurrency called “MiamiCoin” through CityCoins, an open-source protocol that allocates 30% of its rewards to cities when their coins are mined or bought.

Suarez said that so far, the MiamiCoin cryptocurrency has generated more than $21 million in the past three months for the city. If that figure is annualized, then it would amount to around $80 million which is already 20% of the city’s total annual tax revenue of $400 million, the mayor explained.

He said that if the crypto continues to generate high yields, there is a possibility for it to cover Miami’s entire tax revenue.

“We’re going to be the first city in America to give a bitcoin yield as a dividend directly to its residents,” the mayor said.

Although Suarez called the payment a “Bitcoin yield,” the dividend comes from staking MiamiCoin.

“MiamiCoin is based on the stacks protocol that stacks on the bitcoin blockchain, so there are all kinds of nexuses and involvement between one and the other,” he elaborated. Stacks is a separate blockchain, which has its own token and its own mining system.

However, Suarez clarified that before residents can receive their dividends, the city must introduce parameters that define taxpayers, voters or residents who qualify to get such dividends.

The mayor also admitted that there are technological challenges in making such an initiative happen. He said that he will have to hire multiple firms and cryptocurrency exchanges to assist in creating wallets for the recipients and creating a registration and verification system for the Bitcoin yield.

Mayor Suarez Betting on Bitcoin

Mayor Francis Suarez has been committed to transforming Miami into a tech hub for digital innovation.

As reported by Blockchain.News in February, the Mayor announced that his administration is building a holistic infrastructure in Miami where people would want to live and work, also start their businesses, open schools and raise their children there.

In June, Suarez hosted a Bitcoin conference in Miami city and began accepting funds generated through MiamiCoin.

While in October, Suarez announced that his main priority for the city is to be able to pay government employees in Bitcoin. He also stated that he’d like the state of Florida to allow Miami to hold Bitcoin on its balance sheet.

On November 2, the mayor stated that he would take his next paycheck “100%” in Bitcoin, which also inspired New York City Mayor-elect Eric Adams who recently announced that he would take his first three paychecks in Bitcoin once he starts his new job in January next year

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez to Take Part of his 401K Retirement Funds in Bitcoin

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has doubled down again on his love for Bitcoin (BTC) in an interview with Real Vision, promising that he plans to take a part of his 401K retirement savings fund in the digital currency.

“It’s a personal choice,” Suarez told Real Vision Managing Editor Samuel Burke. “I just think it is a good asset to be invested in. I think it’s one that’s obviously going to appreciate over time. It’s one that I believe in.”

Suarez has already commenced plans to take the funds in Bitcoin, a move that will be largely complementary to his earlier move to take a part of his salary in BTC. From his stance with Samuel Burke, the receipt of the retirement funds in Bitcoin is billed to commence as early as 2022 as Suarez replied “Oh yeah! Definitely,” to a question that sought to know if the move will start next year.

Bitcoin is not in a good place at the moment as the digital currency has slumped by over 25% in the past month. Suarez said that his confidence in the digital currency and its underlying blockchain is unwavering despite this bad price outlook.

“Blockchain has succeeded so well because people have confidence in it,” Suarez said. “They have confidence in it because they see that it’s an open-source and an un-manipulatable system. And I think that is the source of the popularity and why it’s done so well.”

The interest in Bitcoin has pushed the Miami Mayor to introduce some innovative programs that are hinged on engrafting blockchain technology in the city. The mayor launched the Miami Coin project earlier this year, through which it hopes to distribute Bitcoin Yield to citizens. An additional forward-thinking move is that the city residents can receive their remunerations in Bitcoin, a pioneering move in the United States.

Miami and its re-elected mayor are undoubtedly a good force helping to push the adoption of digital currencies and blockchain technology into the mainstream.

"I Still Take Salary in Bitcoin", Miami Mayor Suarez Says at Davos

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, recently, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez told a panel that despite the crash that sent crypto prices down almost 40% over the previous two months, he is still taking his city salary in Bitcoin.

The Republican mayor mentioned that he is more focused on the utility of the flagship digital currency. He stated that the plunge of the TerraUSD stablecoin has not changed his vision for promoting the cryptocurrency industry in the city.

Suarez, a 44-year-old lawyer, further pointed out that “tremendous volatility” exists in tech stocks as well. The Miami mayor noted the difference between protecting people from losses and protecting people from fraud: “Government has had time to try and protect people against losses, and you can’t protect people against losses. That’s the American system. That’s what makes investing. That’s the risk component to winning as well.”

Paying Way for a Crypto-Centric Future

Suarez has been taking action to promote Miami city as a hub for crypto giant Bitcoin. In February last year, the vocal mayor disclosed plans to transform Miami into a tech innovation hub and how he embraces Bitcoin and cryptocurrency.

The mayor has been selling his city as the world’s cryptocurrency capital and wants it to be on the next wave of innovation.

In June last year, Suarez convinced organizers of the Bitcoin 2021 conference to hold the event in Miami.

Suarez secured a second term in his office and announced that he would accept 100% of his salary in Bitcoin last November. He even touched on paying employees with Bitcoin, encouraging businesses to accept the crypto for payments, and investing city funds in the cryptocurrency. He clarified that Miami would not be enforcing that city employees accept Bitcoin.

The notion made him popular in the crypto community and advanced his rebranding campaign. His efforts have won him campaign donations from tech investors and attracted funds to develop Miami’s rising tech sector.