The Mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, is not only a bitcoiner but is very keen on growing the crypto sector in the city.
Summary
Mayor of New York against overly stringent crypto regulation
The State of New York, of which New York City is a part, seems to be resisting the idea of fostering the crypto sector.
In fact, a draft law has just been passed that effectively bans Bitcoin mining in the entire state.
The clash between the state’s political decisions and New York’s mayor did indeed seem inevitable, and apparently ignited yesterday.
Adams opposes BitLicensing in New York
Adams lashed out in particular against the so-called “BitLicensing regime“, i.e. the fact that New York State is the only state in the US that requires a specific license to operate for cryptocurrency companies.
It is no coincidence that several crypto exchanges over the years have decided not to provide services to New York State residents, precisely because the regulatory regime in place in New York is so stringent as to be “stifling”, as Adams himself says.
Adams was interviewed yesterday at the Crypto and Digital Assets Summit in London, and took the opportunity to expressly suggest that the State of New York should pay more attention to crypto experts and operators before making decisions that could stifle innovation and economic growth.
It is worth noting that New York City is the largest financial market in the world, but although this peculiarity also brings economic benefits to the city’s surroundings, it does not necessarily extend to the rest of the state.
New York City has a population of just under 9 million, which rises to 20 million if one considers the entire agglomeration including its surrounding area, and even 23 million if one considers the contiguous territories in the state of New Jersey.
The State of New York, on the other hand, has 20.2 million inhabitants, so the vast majority of these reside in the urban agglomeration of the city.
Despite this, the state has a very different approach to cryptocurrency from the one the city is having since the new mayor was elected.
Adams yesterday stated:
“It’s about thinking not only outside the box, but on this one, we may have to destroy the box”.
It is possible that the city of New York, and in particular its huge and important financial centre, has already decided to think outside the box, and question the previous ones, whereas the state has not done so yet.
The main negative consequence highlighted by Adams is the reduction of the State’s competitiveness against other territories that are less rigid in this respect, such as Miami or Texas.
The mayor also says that it is important to work with state legislators and regulators, but he is clearly urging them not to go too far in placing obstacles in the way of innovation.
New York has always been famous for being an innovation pioneer, and it doesn’t seem to make much sense for it to suddenly become conservative and risk-averse.
