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Eric Adams, the second Black man to be elected mayor of New York City, announced on November 4 that he would be committing his first three paychecks in Bitcoin.
Adams’ bold statement comes as a response to the mayor of Miami, Francis Suarez tweeting that he would receive a paycheck in bitcoin.
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Suarez tweeted, “I’m going to take my next paycheck 100% in Bitcoin…problem solved! @Sarasti, can you help?”
Adams replied saying, “In New York, we always go big, so I’m going to take my first THREE paychecks in Bitcoin when I become mayor. NYC is going to be the center of the cryptocurrency industry and other fast-growing, innovative industries! Just wait!”
Adams was asked by CNN if he would be supporting New York City companies that paid employees in bitcoin, to which he said, “we’re going to look at it, we’re going to tread carefully” but added, “I want to make sure that this city becomes a center of innovation, no matter what that innovation is.”
According to USA Today, about 23 percent of Black Americans currently own cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, compared to 13 percent of the overall population.
The survey found that Black people are amongst other minorities of marginalized groups disproportionately owning crypto.
“It is clear from these results that we’ve reached an inflection point in the wealth management space,” Tyrone Ross, CEO of Onramp Invest, a crypto platform, said. “Advisers are now faced with a client base that demands knowledge, access and advice from their adviser on crypto assets.”
Approximately 25 percent of the LGBTQ+ community and 17 percent of Hispanics are members of the crypto market, compared to 11 percent of white Americans.