New York Mayor-elect Eric Adams announced on Twitter Thursday he is going to take his first three paychecks as mayor in Bitcoin. His tweet, sent two days after winning the city’s mayoral election, came in reply to Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who said he was going to take his next paycheck in bitcoin.
It all started when a self-described bitcoin investor tweeted, “It is time. Who is going to be the first American politician to accept their salary in bitcoin?”. Mayor Suarez quote tweeted the investor’s tweet, saying “I’m going to take my next paycheck 100% in bitcoin… problem solved!”
“In New York we always go big, so I’m going to take my first THREE paychecks in Bitcoin when I become mayor,” Adams replied to Suarez. “NYC is going to be the center of the cryptocurrency industry and other fast-growing, innovative industries! Just wait!” Suarez replied back saying “Touché…congrats on the election and I look forward to the friendly competition in making our respective cities a crypto capital!”
Adams’ campaign did clarify that Adams doesn’t actually expect his paychecks in bitcoin. Instead, he’d take his paychecks and convert the cash to bitcoin.
Suarez has elevated his national profile over the past year with a push to transform the city into a tech hub. In the past 10 months, Suarez has met with Big Tech players and investors such as PayPal founder Peter Thiel, who bought a house in Miami Beach. Miami also hosted a Bitcoin conference earlier this year, and started accepting funds generated through a cryptocurrency, named MiamiCoin.
It’s not yet clear how the push has led to migration and job creation patterns as census numbers do not yet include data for 2021.
Bitcoin has enjoyed a surge in popularity as of late. Last month, it set a new record in value following the debut of the first Bitcoin exchange-traded fund, or ETF, on the New York Stock Exchange. After peaking at over $66,000, one Bitcoin was worth just under $61,000 as of Friday morning.
