Miami votes to accept US$4 million in cryptocurrency funds

Miami city commissioners have voted to accept funds raised through MiamiCoin ($MIA), a crypto token launched last month which has already generated US$4.3 million for the city, and counting.

The programmable token generates Stacks (STX) coins and Bitcoin for holders while giving funds to the city’s treasury. When MiamiCoins are mined, 30 percent of the yield is collected in a wallet reserved for the local government.

MiamiCoin is the first token launched by CityCoins but there are plans to roll them out in more cities in the US and beyond, based on community demand.

The Miami city government did not partner with CityCoins on the launch but in July adopted a resolution for the city manager to carry out due diligence on accepting the money raised.

The city is not officially endorsing MiamiCoin and CityCoins can’t use the city’s logo in any promotion. As an additional precaution the city won’t spend the money immediately and specific proposals for how it is used will be put before city commissioners. Ideas  include affordable housing and homelessness, policing, technology education and other ‘tech equity’ programmes.

The cryptocurrency will be converted to US dollars for the city to accept the funds.

On Twitter, Miami’s Mayor Francis Suarez said: “The decision to accept the gift contributions generated by the [CityCoins] protocol – currently valued at $4.3 million – represents a major milestone in Miami’s quest to become a crypto innovation hub. Funds that will directly impact the lives of all our residents.”

The @CityofMiami decision to accept the gift contributions generated by the @mineCityCoins Protocol-currently valued at $4.3M-represents a major milestone in Miami’s quest to become a crypto innovation hub 🚀

Funds that will directly impact the lives of all our residents! https://t.co/pcrY4PwD06

— Mayor Francis Suarez (@FrancisSuarez) September 14, 2021

Rewards

A statement from CityCoins said: “The $4.3 million claimed by Miami today only represents the initial rewards generated for the city by MiamiCoin since its launch in early August. Protocol contributions will continue to replenish and grow as the MiamiCoin protocol gets more usage.”

It added: “Additional civic funding is just one benefit of adopting a CityCoin. One of the main benefits of MiamiCoin are the decentralised applications that can be built on top of this programmable token, by and for the community.”

Developers are building applications as part of the ongoing MiamiCoin Makers Month hackathon.

During a recent webinar, Suarez said it’s possible that the MiamiCoin initiative “could generate enough money to pay off our entire debt”.

Miami is also exploring allowing staff to be paid in Bitcoin, accepting payments and taxes from residents in cryptocurrency and experimenting with use cases on the Ethereum blockchain in areas such as procurement and records management.

Onlookers may be intrigued but cautious about these new and uncertain areas for local government, but Suarez said: “As cities that are in the most disruptive time in the history of humanity and the rate of disruption is accelerating almost exponentially, you have two choices: you can either embrace that disruption and try to get ahead of it, or you can wither away and suffer the consequences of not getting involved.”

New money

Many cities are looking for innovative approaches to boost funding, particularly following the pandemic.

The City of Berkeley in California is pursuing the idea of ‘microbonds’, an alternative to municipal bonds which would allow individuals to invest much smaller amounts, with the administration of the scheme managed via blockchain.

Cities in North Texas are evaluating options to monetise their data and assets such as land, buildings, lighting and roads to generate new revenue.

Meanwhile in the UK, the Bristol Pound local currency is being reinvented as Bristol Pay – a city-focused alternative to online payments. The local payment platform would capture transaction fees – which would typically go to the likes of PayPal, Apple Pay, Mastercard and Visa – and plough them back into social and environmental projects.

Image: Lunamarina | Dreamstime.com