Why is Miami the Crypto Capital of the World?
Franics Suarez, mayor of the city of Miami, is doing wonders for crypto by spearheading adoption and developing a friendly ecosystem for crypto businesses and enthusiasts alike.
“The No. 1 city in the United Stated is Miami for crypto”, says Jeff Sekinger, the founder of O Percent. He is moving his operations into Brickell, Miami’s financial center, and plans on hiring up to 150 employers as reported on local news.
Crypto trading platform OKCOIN has also announced plans to relocate into the city looking to add 100 jobs.
The city has been the cornerstone of major crypto events: Bitcoin 2021 in Miami was the biggest Bitcoin event in its history with a sold-out crowd of 12,000 attendees. In April of 2022, it will be held once again in Miami. And this is just one of many crypto conferences.
These conferences have included major crypto evangelists like Michal Saylor of Microstrategy, Jack Dorsey of Square, and former U.S. congressmen Ron Paul.
And how else is Miami the Crypto Capital ?
The city is at the vanguard of bringing decentralizing public funding to city projects through the cryptocurrency known as Miami Coin. By mining the coin, miners donate a portion of their Miami Coin to support public projects within the city. The coin is built on Stacks (STX) layer 1 technology, which is built on the Bitcoin network. Within the last few months, about 5 million US dollars has been raised for the city through the coin and the city commissioners have voted to accept these funds.
In fact, the city has even decided how to allocate the proceeds: to mine clean Bitcoin and also fund crypto education within the city, thus helping to foster more crypto adoption within Miami.
Mayor Suarez has even uploaded the Bitcoin white paper to the municipal website, as he aims to make Miami a “hub for crypto innovation.”
And when China banned crypto mining, Suarez saw an opportunity. With the nuclear power plant Turkey Point helping to power Miami, he recognized this is as a useful and inexpensive way to mine Bitcoin. He publicly suggested that Bitcoin miners can have a home in Miami, which fully aligns with his crypto ambitions.
Even the real estate market is now booming with crypto activity. A stunning 22.5 million Miami Beach home is the most expensive cryptocurrency purchase to date.
The centralized technocratic behemoths are taking notice.
Miami the crypto capital is now the silicon valley of the south, as the Miami blockchain train is ushering in the internet 3.0 and is attracting old world tech. Recently, Microsoft has announced plans to lease a 50,000 square foot office in the city. For crypto enthusiasts excited about their new crypto hub, Microsoft is an unwelcome guest, as if the devil of centralization is coming to town.
One must wonder why? Does Microsoft see the potential for revolutionary crypto to erode its powerful machinery of profit?
The people of Miami are certainly familiar with oppressive power structures (like the monopolistic antics of Microsoft), as many of its citizens have fled from the Castro dictatorship in Cuba. This may be why the democracy of finance through crypto resonates in the city.
Cryptocurrencies have the chance to recreate a decentralized internet, and thereby bring the power and ownership of the internet back to the people. And Miami, the crypto capital of the world, may be just the place to forge such a future.
