MiamiCoin has generated $7 million for the city, mayor says

Miami has made $7.1 million from a partnership that has its residents using a crypto protocol — and it’s part of Mayor Francis Suarez longer-term vision of a tax-free city.

A new report from the Washington Post revealed Miami’s partnership with the CityCoins protocol has raked in millions since the unveiling of the city’s token in August. Residents hold and trade “MiamiCoin” on the protocol, which represents stake in a municipality. Those running the software earn a percentage of the coins they mint, with users getting 70% and 30% returning to the municipality. 

It’s early days, but Suarez is bullish on the software. He told the Post that he estimates MiamiCoin could generate $60 million for the city over the course of the year.

Suarez has beefed up efforts to make Miami more attractive to crypto businesses. He’s interested in integrating city services with the Ethereum blockchain, and told The Scoop podcast that he’s looking at a variety of legal frameworks to make Miami the “easiest place” to do crypto business.

“We’re looking at a variety of things from being able to make payments in crypto, in bitcoin, in particular, being able to pay your taxes, being able to pay fees to the city,” he said on the April episode. 

As of late, he’s focusing on mining. In the wake of China’s crackdown, Suarez has been courting crypto miners to set up shop in South Florida’s Turkey Point nuclear power plant.