Less than a week after Eric Adams, mayor-elect of New York City, said he wanted the Big Apple to have its own cryptocurrency, CityCoins announced mining operations for NYCCoin would begin on November 10.
Fast facts
- CityCoins is an open-source community that offers a mechanism for cities to build their holdings of Bitcoin, BTC, and Stacks, or STX. CityCoins is the organization behind MiamiCoin, the first city cryptocurrency, which Adams said New York would emulate.
- “NYCCoin will be a decentralized project directly operated and led by New York City’s community and supporters,” according to CityCoins’ blog. Calling it a grassroots initiative, the company said “NYC tokens can be used as the community sees fit to redefine civic engagement, fund local developments, and benefit city residents in whatever additional ways the community wishes.”
- Despite Adams’ enthusiasm, he is not yet the mayor of New York City and the city has not partnered with CityCoins. Nevertheless, on Tuesday he retweeted at CityCoins, “We’re glad to welcome you to the global home of Web3! We’re counting on tech and innovation to help drive our city forward.”
- As a grassroots effort, CityCoins can launch coins without participation from city government. But once NYCCoin launches, the mayor can elect to accept the reserved wallet of cryptocurrency that accrues.
- The coins are built on Stacks, a protocol that enable smart contracts and apps on Bitcoin.
- According to CityCoins, Miami raised US$20 million in three months from MiamiCoin.