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Miami Mayor Francis Suarez: Bitcoin Will Be "Biggest Story For Next Few Years"

Mayor of Miami Francis Suarez says Bitcoin will be the “biggest story for the next few years.”

Francis Suarez, the mayor of Miami city in the US state of Florida, has shown unique leadership with his commitment to bring a different policy outlook and attitude on innovation to the city. He not only strives to bring tech entrepreneurs to Miami but also strives to combine the technology character of San Francisco and the financial elements of New York into the city’s finance and tech oasis.

Bitcoin is one of the several areas his vision touches on as he believes that the leading cryptocurrency will be the main focus of the tech and financial world in the years to come.

Mayor Francis admits that he has always been interested in the idea of Bitcoin and is aware that the popularity of the biggest cryptocurrency is rising among the people of America. Through his leadership, he has revealed that Miami is taking three concrete steps to expand its Bitcoin-friendly nature. First, Miami is planning to give its city employees the opportunity to receive their salaries in Bitcoin. Secondly, the city is considering local fees and taxes to be paid in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. Thirdly, 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. Mayor Francis also considers expanding such a plan by structuring it in a public-private partnership whereby private investors would first get the rewards out to guarantee their returns while the city would benefit from the remaining.

The city’s investments have strong potentials but also some risks. For instance, Miami does not hold any commodities and majorly stick to cash and cash equivalents. Therefore, the city considers loading its balance sheet up with Bitcoin as an inflation hedging strategy to hedge on their treasuries. Furthermore, the mayor keeps an eye out on the Bitcoin ecosystem and events. He has been speaking at Bitcoin events in the previous years and therefore looks forward to bring the Bitcoin 2021 conference to Miami.

Mayor Francis is also intending to finance his reelection campaign in Bitcoin. He is set to join a few politicians who have raised funds in Bitcoin. Lastly, the mayor is reaching out and learning from other states and jurisdictions. For example, he is making efforts to bring Wyoming-state laws on Bitcoin to Florida. He is known to have been reaching out to Bitcoin advocate, Caitlin Long of Wyoming, and also having talks with the Chief Financial Officer of Florida, Jimmy Patronis, to bring Wyoming-style Bitcoin regulations to Florida.

Cities Embracing Decentralization

In the last decade, the concept of smart cities has significantly evolved. One trend that people across the world have noticed is the rising appreciation for active citizens’ contribution and engagement towards happier, more efficient, and smarter cities. Many cities across the globe are embracing decentralization and a blockchain approach is an evolving, superior choice that cities are adopting to improve quality of life, ensure resilience, and enable urban innovation.

Everyone who knows blockchain technology knows Bitcoin. Many people want to invest and store Bitcoin because of the economic value associated with the digital currency. Now even cities want to embrace cryptocurrency and related technology to help power future economic growth.

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.

Rio de Janeiro Plans to become "Crypto Rio" by Storing Part of its Reserves in Bitcoin

Following in the footsteps of Miami, Brazilian city Rio de Janeiro plans to enter the crypto space by having 1% of its reserves in Bitcoin.

Speaking during Rio Innovation Week, Mayor Eduardo Paes revealed that the city of Rio de Janeiro is eyeing to invest part of its Treasury in cryptocurrencies, according to local media outlet O Globo.

Paes stated:

“We are going to launch Crypto Rio and invest 1% of the Treasury in cryptocurrency.”

Plans are also underway to have the option of paying taxes using Bitcoin, according to the city mayor.

Paes was joined by Francis Suarez, the mayor of Miami, in the event through video call and he highlighted that the connection with Miami was crucial in a world of global cities.

Rio de Janeiro intends to borrow a leaf from Miami in its Bitcoin adoption journey so that it becomes the tech capital of South America. Paes noted:

“Miami and Rio are global cities, attracting people, businesses, and organizations. This international dialogue is essential.”

He added that events like Rio Innovation Week were strengthening the city’s status as a perfect place to live, work, and innovate.

Rio de Janeiro also intends to follow in Miami’s footsteps by offering tax incentives to tech companies located in Porto Maravalley.

On his part, Mayor Suarez pointed out:

“We created a tsunami of opportunity. Many cities in the United States were raising taxes, and we lowered them. We understood that we could be at the forefront of innovation and we invited creators here.”

Miami has been one of the crypto-friendly cities on American soil. For instance, in November last year, the city disclosed plans to distribute Bitcoin yields with residents.

Furthermore, Mayor Suarez revealed that he would become the first American lawmaker to accept Bitcoin as salary payment.

Florida Governor Reveals Plan to Permit Crypto Tax Payments

Speaking at a press conference, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis disclosed plans to roll out a cryptocurrency payment option for businesses remitting taxes, as reported by Bloomberg.

DeSantis pointed out:

“I’ve told the state agencies to figure out ways, where if a business wants to pay tax in cryptocurrency to Florida, we should be willing to accept that. We’re working through that.”

The governor has been responded to the call that the state is one of the emerging hubs for cryptocurrency investment, given that leading crypto companies like Blockchain.com have set foot in Miami.

DeSantis also proposed to have businesses submit state fees in cryptocurrencies in December.

As a prospective 2024 Republican presidential candidate, DeSantis has showcased his crypto-friendly approaches. For instance, he highlighted his reservation for government-owned digital currencies based on the power they would render the controlling authority compared to decentralized cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.

DeSantis stated:

“There’s a difference between a decentralized digital cryptocurrency like Bitcoin and what some are talking about doing at the federal level to convert U.S. dollars into basically a digital currency.”

He added:

“I think there are a lot of hazards with that when it’s centrally controlled. I worry about the amount of power that would give someone in a central authority to basically be able to shut off access to purchasing certain goods. We’d be in uncharted territory.”

Miami has made Florida get the limelight, given that Mayor Francis Suarez has embraced cryptocurrencies in distinctive ways.

In November last year, Suarez revealed he would accept his total salary in Bitcoin, Blockchain.News reported. The mayor promised to have part of his retirement package disbursed in the digital currency a month later.