Miami is fast becoming one of the major hubs in the crypto world with more and more blockchain companies moving to the city each year.Miami famously p
Miami is fast becoming one of the major hubs in the crypto world with more and more blockchain companies moving to the city each year.
Miami famously plays host to the Bitcoin Conference each year, and digital assets have been embraced by the mayor and the wider population. Here’s your ultimate guide to the crypto city of Miami.
Fast facts
City: Miami
Country: United States
Population: 6.17 million (Metropolitan Area)
Established: 1896
Languages: English (official), Spanish (~60% of residents), Haitian Creole (widespread)
“Party in the city where the heat is on,
all night, on the beach till the break of dawn.
Welcome to Miami,
bienvenido a Miami!” — Will Smith
Understand
Just over a century ago, Julia Tuttle, an American businesswoman and wealthy widow from Ohio, purchased a 640-acre estate located on the Miami River that would set the foundation for the modern-day city. In 1894–1895, Florida was hit by a blizzard that devastated the crops and vegetation within the state, but miraculously, Tuttle’s estate was left unscathed from the freeze. Immediately recognizing the area’s economic value, Tuttle asked American industrialist Henry Flagler to construct a railway that would pass through what was then the Village of Miami. Flagler agreed. Within one year, economic development, primarily in real-estate interest, encouraged local residents to incorporate the City of Miami.
The first wave of immigration into the area started as part of the Florida Real Estate boom in the 1920s, and Miami quickly became one of the state’s premier tourist destinations. During the 1950s to the 1970s, a combination of the Cuban Revolution, the civil war in Nicaragua, and the oppressive policies of Haitian dictator François Duvalier saw many emigrate to Miami in search of a better life.
Known for its all-year tropical climate, low taxes, sound infrastructure, entertainment venues and diverse population, Florida is one of only nine states that does not levy a state tax on ordinary personal income.
The Sunshine State has also become a premier destination for an exodus of Americans from high-tax states such as New York and California, attracted by low goods and services tax and property taxes. The city also serves as a major transportation gateway to access many of the Caribbean Islands’ offshore banking services nearby.
The recent wave of “tech émigrés” has seen it become one of the most blockchain-friendly cities in the United States, leading the advancement of the crypto and Web3 realm.
“Miami is going to hack our way to the top in order to compete with the world.”
What an honor to be joined by visionaries like @DavidSacks @shervin @jdanjohnson and @jefffluhr for “Not Another Fireside Chat” on the future of Miami Tech at Miami Hack Week! pic.twitter.com/WWJHsUmg6W
— Mayor Francis Suarez (@FrancisSuarez) April 20, 2022
Crypto culture and cityscape
Thanks in part to the leadership of Mayor Francis Suarez, Miami is leading the way in municipal crypto adoption. Suarez has personally set an example of taking his salary and portion of his 401(k) retirement savings account in Bitcoin. In August 2021, the City of Miami partnered with CityCoins to launch a municipal digital currency, dubbed (unsurprisingly) “MiamiCoin,” to fund local projects by generating yield. The project initially raised $23 million, but like everything, it was hit hard by the crypto bear market, and the token has lost nearly 90% of its value, while Bitcoin’s price has fallen around 70% since Mayor Suarez first announced he was taking his paycheck in Bitcoin.
Nevertheless, Miami is unique insofar as it has the Miami-Dade County Cryptocurrency Task Force, comprising municipal stakeholders, designed to research and enact crypto legislation to benefit local residents. Elijah Bowdre, chairman of the Cryptocurrency Task Force, says:
“Crypto is on fire. And Miami-Dade County is poised to pierce the veil for municipalities and crypto. And I’m leading that charge. It’s an honor. I am very humbled by it. But it’s also very exciting.”
A plan is also in motion to enable residents in all of Miami-Dade county to officially pay with crypto for things such as driver’s license renewals, registration fees, water bills, and county bills, among many others. In addition, municipal employees will be able to receive a portion of all of their paychecks in crypto. Moreover, they can have a percentage of their salary put away toward a crypto retirement fund.
Each year, the North American Bitcoin Conference takes place in Miami. It was here in 2014 that a young Russian-Canadian called Vitalik Buterin first unveiled his idea for a decentralized, programmable smart contract blockchain dubbed Ethereum.
cointelegraph.com