New York’s new mayor-elect Eric Adams feels that it’s about time schools began incorporating crypto as a subject into their curricula. Adams, who’s been an avid crypto fan and bullish on its widening scope, recently made a headline for stating that he would take his first three paychecks in Bitcoin and signalled his intention to make New York the “centre of the cryptocurrency industry” after he takes office in January.
During an interview with CNN, Adams described crypto as “a new way of paying for goods and services throughout the entire globe.” Adams has also urged local schools to teach students “the new way of thinking” enabled by blockchain technology and digital assets.
“l want to send a signal. This city was the Empire State … This is the centre of innovation, self-driving cars, drone development, cybersecurity, life sciences. So when I talked about blockchain and bitcoin, young people on the street stopped and asked me: ‘What is that? What it is about?’,” Adams said.
Adams did make it clear that making Bitcoin a larger part of the New York economy will require a lot of work. “We are going to look at it, and we are going to tread carefully. We are going to get it right,” he said.
The Democrat has also wagered a “friendly competition” with Miami, which has become one of the US hubs for crypto jobs, Adams said that he would also explore setting up a New York equivalent of Miami Coin — a city token.
The mayor-elect’s comments have divided the opinion of experts with American economist and professor at Harvard University, Jason Furman, calling this a wrong investment decision and wrong investment advice too, for the people of New York.
The mayor was quick to respond, saying this is a personal decision. Having lost thousands of dollars in the stock market crash in the past, Adams noted that Bitcoin is just as volatile as some of the other investments people make.