Miami is integrating cryptocurrency into city government

With plans to make Miami the cryptocurrency hub of the US, Mayor Francis Suarez is continuing with the MiamiCoin project, which so far has earned the city $7.1 million in revenue. He projects that the program could generate up to $60 million over the coming year. 

According to the Washington Post, Mayor Suarez is even putting forward the idea, that due to Miami’s position as a crypto innovation hub, the city could eventually be tax free for its residents.  

The MiamiCoin project is a non-profit venture that allows citizens to run a software on their computers that allows them to mint tokens, similar to the mining activity that brings cryptocurrency into being, and then keep 70% of these tokens, while the other 30% goes to a selected municipality. 

The project relies on a base cryptocurrency called “Stacks”. Miners mint the Stacks tokens and send them to “CityCoins” which is the non-profit organisation. They are then turned into MiamiCoin, and the miners who mint the most Stacks will stand the best chance of being awarded MiamiCoin. 

The tokens can also be bought or mined by those wishing to support the city. If demand outstrips supply, then a profit can be made on them. Currently, MiamiCoin can be bought and traded on the Okcoin exchange, where it is at a price of around 0.026 cents. 

Since the project began in August, $7.1 million has been earned for programs that address societal problems such as poverty.  

The mayor says he is currently in discussions with mining companies, which would see them setting up operations in the vicinity of a South Florida power plant. He wants to promote this kind of activity in order to make Miami into a technology hub. 

As well as holding the world’s biggest Bitcoin conference, which last June attracted thousands of cryptocurrency enthusiasts, the mayor is exploring the possibility of giving city employees the right to be paid in bitcoin, or of resident to pay part of their taxes and fees in the cryptocurrency. 

There is the issue of regulatory compliance however. In this light, the city has decided to not spend any of the proceeds from MiamiCoin for the next six months, in order to see how the regulatory landscape unfolds, and also to wait and see if anybody decides to sue, or if any fraud is uncovered. 

San Francisco is possibly the next city to enter into a partnership with CityCoins, and it appears that other cities might also investigate the possibilities. 

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.