Miami Receives $5.25m from MiamiCoin (MIA) Initiative

Late last year and through the early part of this year, there’s been plenty of crypto chatter on Capitol Hill and across a number of key U.S states.

The State of Florida and New York City Become Crypto Havens

In January, Miami City Mayor Francis Suarez and New York City Mayor Eric Adams confirmed that they will receive a Bitcoin (BTC) salaries. Both had announced that they would take Bitcoin salaries late last year.

Joining the Mayors of New York City and the City of Miami was Tampa Bay Mayor Jane Castor. Mayor Castor had also announced plans to receive a Bitcoin pay check late last year.

With Florida State and the City of New York considered progressive and crypto friendly, the Governor of the State of Florida announced late last week that businesses will be permitted to pay state fees in digital assets. Governor Ron DeSantis had proposed a program to let businesses pay state fees in digital currencies late last year.

Miami, CityCoins, and MiamiCoin

In the State of Florida, the crypto friendly position has led to an increase in crypto adoption.

The increased adoption comes in spite of a marked rise in regulatory scrutiny in the U.S and beyond. Just last month, a U.S Congress subcommittee held a hearing on crypto mining and the environment, with lawmakers targeting Bitcoin. Calls for a global regulatory framework and increased regulatory activity contributed to Bitcoin’s tumble from last November’s ATH $68,979.

Nonetheless, news from the City of Miami remains positive for supporters of digital assets and decentralization.

In June 2021, the City of Miami launched its own digital asset MiamiCoin (MIA), the first CityCoins to market. Powered by Stacks (STX), CityCoins is “a protocol that enables smart contracts on the Bitcoin network”.

Stack holders can forward STX into the Stacks protocol and receive 70% of all stacked STX tokens in MiamiCoin (MIA). Miners can then mine with the rewarded MIA to then earn BTC rewards.

The remaining 30% goes to City Wallets. City Wallets are considered the same as a city’s treasury. For Miami City, Mayor Suarez can either exchange the accrued tokens for fiat, or mine the STX tokens to earn Bitcoin.

MiamiCoin ultimately provides a platform for the residents of Miami to support the city by building a crypto treasure chest to fund infrastructure improvements, recruit start-ups, host events, and create new public areas.

Following Miami City was New York City that then launched its very own CityCoins named NewYork Coin (NYC Coin).

MiamiCoin Delivers $5.2m to the City of Miami’s Coffers

Late last week, Miami City Mayor Suarez announced on Twitter that the City of Miami received its first disbursement from CityCoins, totaling $5.25m. Suarez added that the project “creates resources for the city through innovation not taxation”.

I’m so excited to announce that the @CityofMiami has received its first-ever disbursement from @mineCityCoins totaling $5.25M.

This is a historic moment for our city to collaborate with an innovative project that creates resources for our city through innovation not taxation.

— Mayor Francis Suarez (@FrancisSuarez) February 2, 2022

The latest news places the City of Miami firmly on the crypto map. Mayor Suarez  is looking to transform the city into a “Cryptocurrency innovation hub”. The mayor has a goal to derive enough crypto income through the MiamiCoin initiative to make the City of Miami tax free.