Mark Weaden
New York City Mayor-elect Eric Adams hopes to see cryptocurrency integrated into the city’s tech hub
Eric Adams beat Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa in the mayoral elections with 72.8% of the vote. While they differed on policy, both candidates held pro-crypto views. Eric Adams was quoted as saying he wants to see New York City become “the center of Bitcoins”, as he hopes to turn NYC into a crypto hub.
The soaring crypto markets haven’t gone unnoticed and amidst a time when many countries around the world are posturing to accommodate the growing demand for access to digital currencies, pro-crypto stances are quite appealing.
Eric Adams vision for New York City
Adams is due to replace Bill de Blasio, who has had a fairly controversial time in office—though it was during testing times. Given that New York has been through a very difficult period with the COVID-19 pandemic, Adams looks to breathe life back into the city with exciting new projects.
Adams has pledged to make New York City “the center of cybersecurity, the center of self-driving cars, drones, the center of Bitcoins.” Qatar stated a similar vision for the city, as countries around the world position to try and accommodate the fast-moving crypto industry.
New York state is often seen as the benchmark for regulation and enforcement for crypto firms in the States. The state has settled many cases within the crypto space, handling the Bitfinex and Tether cases. New York City is the nation’s financial hub, with many major companies in the city involved in the growth of crypto already.
Although it’s unlikely that the main point of contention among voters was the candidates’ stances on crypto, it is a sign of how far things have come in such a short time. Integration of cryptocurrency as a payment system could be fully integrated into the city, but there is still a long way to go before Adams’ vision for the city is fulfilled. For now, Adams's term begins and we await him bringing the idea of NYC as a crypto hub into reality.
