Miami commissioners vote to study digital currencies for future adoption

Miami’s bid to become the U.S. digital currency hub received a boost when the city’s commissioners voted to study digital currencies for future adoption. Miami City Mayor Francis Suarez was behind the proposal and believes that the vote is a step in the right direction.

Mayor Suarez has been advocating for digital currency adoption for several months now. He has in the past stated that he believes the city can greatly benefit from digital currency and blockchain adoption. As CoinGeek reported, the city even appointed a CTO to explore greater application of blockchain technology in the city.

In his latest drive, Mayor Suarez wanted the city’s Commissioners to vote in his digital currency adoption proposal. This included voting for the city to legalize BTC payments for its workers. However, after lengthy discussions, the Commissioners shot this proposal down by a 4-1 vote.

Joe Carollo, one of the commissioners who shot down the proposal, revealed he was skeptical of BTC. Carollo’s skepticism is valid, especially given BTC’s inability to function as a currency. According to YCharts, an average BTC transaction will cost you $17.62 currently. Just days ago, the fees were as high as $29.73, an unreasonable fee to pay for a simple transaction.

Carollo stated, “I think the mayor has done a fabulous job with that, and his intentions are coming right from the heart. Having said that, I can’t drink the Kool-Aid on this one.”

However, the Commissioners voted to explore digital currencies and blockchain technology more. To start with, Miami will launch education campaigns for its citizens to teach them about digital currencies. The campaigns will be in English, Spanish and Creole.

The Commissioners also voted to embark on a campaign towards pushing for enabling digital currency regulations. They want to make it easier for Miami residents to invest in digital currencies.

Despite having some of his proposals shot down, Mayor Suarez described it as a win for Miami. “It’s wonderful to be a very ‘crypto-forward’ city in the city of Miami, and I want to thank my commission colleagues for allowing that to happen,” he stated.

He believes that in the future, Miami will hire a vendor to allow state employees to receive part of their salaries in digital currencies. Miami will also allow residents to pay fees and taxes in digital currencies, he believes.

See also: CoinGeek Live panel, Regulation of Digital Assets & Digital Asset Businesses

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