The mayor of Miami will be paid in bitcoins. Why does it matter?
The mayor of the US city of Miami, Francis Suarez, could become the first US politician to be paid in bitcoin. Suarez himself is a longtime fan of cryptocurrencies and has already proposed strategies for their implementation at the municipal level in his city several times. It seems that he has decided to go beyond just words and back them up with practical use of the major digital asset. We tell you more about the situation.
Note that Francis Suarez joined the cryptocurrency community in late 2020: at least that's when he started commenting on what was happening in the digital asset niche and supporting its development.
In February this year, the politician announced that he was going to invest his own money in digital assets. Not only did Suarez consider quite conservative Bitcoin and Etherium for potential investment, but he also considered the Dogecoin meme coin, which managed to deliver strong yields in 2021 and then plummeted markedly. Read more about the politician’s views on the cryptocurrency market in a separate piece.
Even though Suarez has made an investment, he has decided not to stop there. Francis now wants to earn a salary in Bitcoin as well. This statement was made by the politician the day before.
Who gets paid in Bitcoin
Suarez posted his decision to accept a salary in BTC on Twitter as a response to a message from cryptocurrency fan Anthony Pompliano. He asked who would be the first American politician whose salary would be paid in crypto. It seems Suarez is happy to be one.
My next pay cheque will be entirely in Bitcoin. Problem solved!
Francis Suarez’s tweet
In the tweet, the mayor mentioned Mike Sarasti, in charge of the local innovation and technology authority. Which means Sarasti should help Suarez adapt the process of receiving, calculating and deducting taxes from wages. According to CryptoPotato, it reaches a level of $187,500 a year, which at the current market price of Bitcoin equates to about 3 BTC.
“Cryptorevolution” in Miami is not drawing any serious criticism from the local population and politicians. As a reminder, the city’s mayoral election began on November 2, in which Republican Francis Suarez received the support of 78.7 percent of the vote. Only 11.5 per cent of the votes were cast for his main rival.
Francis Suarez.
And so this situation is markedly different from that of El Salvador, where the country’s leadership periodically faces criticism of the active adoption of Bitcoin from both locals and the international community. For example, at one time analysts wondered who holds the private keys to access the country’s bitcoins, of which there are currently 700.
Vitalik Buterin, the creator of Efirium, has suggested that the way cryptocurrencies are promoted in the country is inconsistent with the ideals of a decentralised community that must choose its own future. The developer believes that against the background of what is happening, many citizens may lose part of their money due to the lack of experience in investing in coins. You can read more about his point of view in a separate article.
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez
We believe that the continued integration of Bitcoin in many social spheres of a major American city will play a positive role in its worldwide adoption. Still, in early September, Bitcoin became legal tender in an entire country, El Salvador. In a sense, this event was one of the triggers for the cryptocurrency's recent rise to a new all-time high. So, this time, a more global event could also be good for the digital asset.
What do you think about it? Share your opinion in our millionaires’ cryptochat. There we will discuss other important events that affect the blockchain industry.
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