NYC Mayor-Elect To Take First Three Paychecks In Bitcoin

Eric Adams tweeted the news in response to Miami Mayor Francis Suarez’s similar announcement, igniting game theory dynamics.

• NYC Mayor-Elect Eric Adams will take his first three paychecks in bitcoin.
• The move comes in response to Miami Mayor’s announcement two days before, saying he would take his next paycheck fully in BTC.
• One of Bitcoin’s most essential characteristics, game theory, has begun playing out at the U.S. politics level.

Game theory has started playing out in politics as the New York City Mayor-Elect announced he would be taking his first three paychecks fully in bitcoin, only a couple of days after his Miami counterpart shared a similar move.

“In New York we always go big, so I’m going to take my first THREE paychecks in Bitcoin when I become mayor,” Eric Adams tweeted. “NYC is going to be the center of the cryptocurrency industry and other fast-growing, innovative industries! Just wait!”

The tweet came in response to Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who committed on November 2 to take the entirety of his next paycheck in BTC, effectively becoming the first known U.S. politician to do so. Now, Adams is trying to offset his second-place status by tripling the commitment.

Adams was recently elected as the next mayor of New York City after a candidate run marked by enthusiasm and promises around Bitcoin. The mayor-elect vowed to Bloomberg yesterday that he will “look at what’s preventing the growth of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in our city.”

Despite big and bullish promises, the mayor-elect also shared his plans to develop a “New York Coin,” similar to the one being implemented by Suarez in Miami. “We’re going to look in the direction to carry that out,” Adams added in his comments to Bloomberg.

Although both politicians fall for the token novelty, part of their actions align with the Bitcoin ethos and unlock a new game arena: politics game theory. Having two prominent U.S. politicians take 100% of some of their paychecks in BTC legitimizes the network and the asset, pushing adoption further. However, users must differentiate between a true digital monetary good, bitcoin, from a populist initiative like city coins.