New Yorkers are not able to buy or sell NewYorkCityCoin (NYCCoin), a cryptoasset that was design to give “citizens and supporters the power to support, improve and program the city that never sleeps.”
According to a report by Bloomberg, project developer CityCoins was inspired to create NYCCoin in November 2021 after New York Mayor Eric Adams’ vowed to make the city the “center of the cryptocurrency industry.”
The report claims NYCCoin allows people to “invest” in New York by mining and buying tokens, in addition to profiting from the price appreciation. A percentage of the tokens mined are designated to be deposited in a wallet for the benefit of the city.
While NYCCoin is not officially endorsed by the city or Mayor Adams, New Yorkers will not even have the option to buy or sell the token. Crypto trading platforms in New York are required to have a BitLicense to operate. The Bloomberg report says that none of the exchanges currently in possession of a BitLicense offer NYCCoin.
Patrick Stanley, a lead community developer for CityCoins, was critical of New York’s BitLicense requirement
He told Bloomberg,
BitLicense functions as an onerous obstacle that limits innovation. The City of New York is reviewing how they could accept and use the funds, but if there’s a lack of imagination, Miami is the model.
CityCoins launched MiamiCoin in August 2021, with nearly 4 billion coins claimed since its inception. Unlike New York City, residents of Miami are able to buy and sell the coin on exchanges.
Despite the inability to trade NYCCoin, residents of the city do have the option to participate in the mining process.
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed by the author, or any people mentioned in this article, are for informational purposes only, and they do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice. Investing in or trading cryptoassets comes with a risk of financial loss.
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