by Lydia Ludmila 
- Miami recently launched its own, native cryptocurrency, called the MiamiCoin.
- The coin is still not available for use as the developers are making additional checks before releasing it.
- Miami’s Mayor has high hopes for the coin, and plenty of ideas on how to use it to better the city.
The United States is a big country, and as such, it has room for people of all beliefs. This is even true when it comes to the cryptocurrency industry, with some states, like the State of New York, being extremely skeptical of crypto and difficult to operate in. On the other side, there are states like Florida, which have proven to be a lot more crypto-friendly.
In fact, Miami, FL just launched its own cryptocurrency — the so-called MiamiCoin. Like with any other digital currency, anyone can download the software and mint the new coins, with the miner keeping 70% of the profits, while the rest goes to the city’s own wallet.
While this is the only test case of this idea at this point in time, it does appear to be functional and profitable alike. Especially since Miami City Wallet managed to collect over $10 million since August. This is over three times the amount that the city expected to see.
Miami’s Mayer and a major Bitcoin supporter, Francis Suarez, says that this is only a beginning, and that, at the current pace, Miami could soon see as much as $60 million in profit. Eventually, he hopes to see this method being used for replacing taxes in due time.
The coins are still not available for use, but will be, soon
For the moment, the coins are still kept in escrow, where they will remain for a few more months. The mayor explained that the development team behind the coin is making additional checks before letting the coins into circulation and having the city’s crypto users get to spend the coins.
Suarez stated that these are simple checks to ensure that there are no issues related to the technology, which will be followed by work on a variety of different ideas that the developers have already come up with. It is all for the purpose of bettering the city, according to Suarez, as the coins will be used to improve education, provide affordable housing, and address a lot of issues that cities across America are struggling with, but lack the resources to solve.
There are still issues to take care of, from the regulatory status of the coin to tackling issues like money-laundering concerns, volatility, and alike, but the new popularity of city-coins is encouraging, as it signals a growing competition to attract the fast-growing digital industry to Miami.
