Since 2021, Mayor Eric Adams has been talking about how he’s going to make New York City the center of the crypto industry, though this hasn’t materialized. (Some Bitcoin and crypto companies are based here, but this has little to do with Adams’ efforts — or lack thereof.)
So, when I heard the mayor propose issuing BitBonds in New York City at Bitcoin 2025, I was far from convinced that this would actually happen.
And then when I read a statement from NYC Comptroller Brad Lander on the topic, it became even more clear to me that Adams was merely posturing when it came to BitBonds.
“New York City will not be issuing any bitcoin-backed bonds on my watch,” said Lander in the statement.
“Mayor Eric Adams may be willing to bet our future on crypto in exchange for a trip to Vegas, but my job is to ensure our City’s financial stability. Cryptocurrencies are not sufficiently stable to finance our City’s infrastructure, affordable housing, or schools,” he added.
“Proposing that New York City should open its capital planning to crypto could expose our City to new risks and erode bond buyers’ trust in our City.”
In the statement, Lander went on to discuss how BitBonds would work at the federal level (90% of the funds go to government expenditures, while 10% goes to buying bitcoin for a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve), before noting a key difference between federal bonds and the bonds that New York City issues.
“While the federal government issues bonds to fund traditional expenditures, New York City primarily issues bonds to fund capital assets and in only very narrow circumstances can the City finance other purposes,” wrote Lander.
Lander then went on to lay out a number of other reasons why New York City will not be issuing BitBonds anytime soon, including that ”New York City would have to be able to take transactions in Bitcoin in order to issue bonds backed by Bitcoin” because “New York City has neither any mechanism to pay for its Capital Assets in any other currency besides the US Dollar nor any means to convert Bitcoin to US Dollars.”
(If I read that correctly, Lander says that New York City doesn’t know how to set up a Bitcoin wallet or trade bitcoin for U.S. dollars. Just about on par for an elected official in New York.)
Now, pardon my cynicism here, but I’m a New Yorker — a resident of one of the most restrictive jurisdictions in the world when it comes to Bitcoin and crypto, thanks to the BitLicense — and there are two things you can bet on at this point in time in New York.
- Mayor Eric Adams will talk a good game about Bitcoin and crypto while not taking any action behind the scenes.
- Bureaucrats and elected officials alike in New York will continue to throw cold water on anything that challenges Wall Street’s power, while still claiming that New York is the “financial capital of the world.” (Laughable.)
So, Mayor Adams can make all the proposals he wants from stages in Las Vegas to NYC-sponsored crypto summits, but until I see his administration actually do something substantial for New York City residents as it pertains to Bitcoin and crypto, I’ll just assume that New York will continue to stagnate financially.
This article is a Take. Opinions expressed are entirely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.
