Missouri Mayor Jayson Stewart plans to give every household in Cool Valley $1000 worth of Bitcoin.

Missouri Mayor Jayson Stewart plans to give every household in Cool Valley $1000 worth of Bitcoin. Cool Valley, Missouri, a small town in the St. Louis County area, has about 1,500 residents.

Jayson Stewart told Bitcoin Magazine in an interview that Bitcoin has “given me a new way of thinking about humanity in the future.”

He continued, “It's given me a hope, and an optimism that we can overcome some of the worst parts of the system that we're born into, and actually create a future exactly how we want it to be. There's a certain level of hope and optimism that I get from Bitcoin.”

Initially Stewart planned to raise enough money to airdrop just $500 to every household in Cool Valley, however, his announcement drew attention and additional funds from across the nation.

 “As of right now, the project is fully funded for $1,000 per household,” Stewart told Coin Telegraph, adding that the town has exceeded its donation goals because “the story got so popular in a way that I never anticipated.” The mayor plans to use the additional donations received to explore energy efficient initiatives in Cool Valley. During his interview with Bitcoin Magazine Stewart described the hurdles of putting Bitcoin on the town’s reserve, and how this shifted his priority to solving the logistics of educating and giving 1,500 residential households access to Bitcoin.

Clearly for the mayor, the most important part of his donation is ensuring that the Bitcoin is donated in service of social change and improving Cool Valley, while uplifting people along the way.

Photo by @JaelinCollier

The distribution logistics of the Bitcoin airdrop are not yet finalized, Stewart told Coin Telegraph. His plan is to first organize educational workshops for residents to learn about what they will be receiving. “We’re going to get people storing their own Bitcoin as quickly as possible,” the mayor said. In an exemplary display of low-time-preference understanding, Mayor Stewart is also planning to allow citizens to receive a larger Bitcoin payout if they choose to hold their Bitcoin for a certain length of time, but will allow those who wish to sell to receive their allotted sats to do so. Mayor Stewart has also recently joined the Advisory Board for the Midwest Bank Center, which is a local bank with nearly $2 billion in assets under management. Soon he hopes to see a Bitcoin-friendly bank in town, as well as other attractive Bitcoin business opportunities such as mining facilities and events.

Stewart told Bitcoin Magazine, “Bitcoin is fundamentally American. It is the most American thing. Our government is built on freedom and personal liberty, and rights and self-sovereignty, and all of the things that Bitcoin really is. I think it's a natural marriage that Bitcoin in America will thrive.”