Innovative cities across America are racing to become the next hot spot for cryptocurrency and blockchain adoption. Miami was the first city to adopt
Innovative cities across America are racing to become the next hot spot for cryptocurrency and blockchain adoption. Miami was the first city to adopt its own part of CityCoins last year, allowing it to implement its own cryptocurrency called “MiamiCoin” to be used for civic engagement.
New York City has also made a name for itself as a crypto-friendly city by implementing educational initiatives and with Mayor Eric Adams receiving his paycheck in Bitcoin (BTC) in January this year.
Austin takes a strong stance
Most recently, Austin — the state capital of Texas that goes by the slogan “Keep Austin Weird” — has taken a strong interest in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. While Texas’ desire to lead the way for crypto innovation was established about a year ago when Governor Greg Abbot tweeted that he is a “crypto law proposal supporter,” the city of Austin has taken additional measures to ensure the acceptance of cryptocurrency for city services.
Count me in as a crypto law proposal supporter.
It is increasingly being used for transactions and is beginning to go mainstream as an investment. (Fidelity, etc. trying to get Bitcoin ETF).
Texas should lead on this like we did with a gold depository. https://t.co/1z25mtgnmu
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) March 29, 2021
On March 9, 2022, Austin city council member Mackenzie Kelly put forth a resolution to direct the Austin city manager to explore possible use cases of cryptocurrency to benefit Austin and its residents. The resolution specifically asks for the city manager to examine how the city could adopt Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for financial transactions.
Kelly told Cointelegraph that her resolution directs the city manager to conduct a fact-finding study to determine what would be required for the city to accept Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency payments for city services:
“This is more of a feasibility study. We currently don’t have enough information as council members to know if we can accept crypto as payment for city services. We need to know more about this before we can decide. In doing so, there is security information we need to look at to see if this is even viable or if we can keep crypto on our books financially. We don’t know if we can bill it as an asset — that would prevent us from being able to accept crypto as payment. There’s also the financial stability of crypto as a whole, and if we can even accept it in that regard.”
Although questions remain, Kelly mentioned that Austin has always been a forward-thinking and innovative city, noting that many cryptocurrency investors currently live and work in Austin. Kelly added that Austin Mayor Steve Adler is a co-sponsor of her resolution. Given this support, Kelly believes cryptocurrency payments will serve as a useful alternative to allow individuals the flexibility of paying for certain city services. She elaborated:
“If someone gets a speeding ticket, for example, and doesn’t have a bank account but has cryptocurrency, they could use crypto as payment. Or, if they wanted to pay their taxes or electric bills using Bitcoin or dedicate a park in their name using crypto. This is all part of the analysis for allowing the city of Austin to accept crypto payments.”
This could certainly make a huge impact, as recent data from Finder.com found that 8% of Texans already own Bitcoin and that adoption in the state could hit 14% by the end of the year. Austin, in particular, could benefit from crypto payments for city services, as Google data shows that Austin ranks at the number one city in Texas that searches for the keywords “Bitcoin” and “crypto.”
All things considered, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Kelly’s resolution was approved during Austin’s city council meeting that took place on March 24. Now that the resolution has passed, Kelly explained that the next step for approval will occur in mid-June when the Austin city manager can determine if crypto can indeed be accepted as payment. This will be based on the city’s research regarding financial stability, security, equity and inclusion and consumer benefits or risks.
In addition to Kelly’s resolution, Adler’s resolution focusing on blockchain technology was also passed during Austin’s March 24, 2022 working session. During the meeting, city council member Sabino Renteria explained that Austin started exploring the use of blockchain four years ago to ensure that the city’s homeless population would have control of their personal records at all times. “The concept was what if we use blockchain technology to be able to give folks ownership and access to all of their records,” he remarked. Renteria added that he is “excited at the prospect of what blockchain can do.”
While both resolutions are innovative, some Austin city council members expressed concerns during the meeting….
cointelegraph.com