Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has stated that the proceeds from the city’s cryptocurrency, MiamiCoin, will be distributed directly to Miami residents.
According to the cryptocurrency news site Coindesk.com, which conducted an interview with Suarez on Thursday, those proceeds, totaling approximately $21 million dollars, are the result of Miami staking its cryptocurrency in order to earn Bitcoin.
“We’re going to be the first city in America to give a Bitcoin yield directly to its residents,” Suarez told the site’s hosts.
“We’re going to create digital wallets for our residents and give them Bitcoin directly from the MiamiCoin yield.”
He also stated that MiamiCoin has earned the city more than $20 million in the last three months.
Suarez noted that if the figure remains consistent at $80 million or more per year, it would represent one-fifth of Miami’s $400 million in annual tax revenue, presenting the possibility of the city becoming “a city that runs without taxes.”
According to The Associated Press, MiamiCoin is the city’s version of CityCoins, which are digital tokens that people can hold and trade as a stake in their city’s government.
Suarez also stated that the payments will be made through a digital wallet program in which residents will be able to obtain, register, and verify their own wallets in order to participate in cryptocurrency exchanges.
Saurez told the hosts of Coindesk.com that the new initiative could eliminate the need for Miami residents to pay taxes, which he described as “revolutionary.”
“I see a world where the satoshi system is used to make payments very quickly,” Suarez said.
“We need people to understand this…Yes, we want you to hold bitcoin, but we also want to improve its utility.”
Miami, led by Suarez, has been a pioneer in the early adoption of cryptocurrency.
Suarez announced last week that he would accept his next payment as mayor using a dollar-to-bitcoin conversion service, prompting New York City Mayor-elect Eric Adams to announce that he, too, would accept his first three payments in bitcoin.
