New York Mayor Eric Adams Establishes Advisory Council, Aiming to Transform the City into the Crypto Capital, with Policy Recommendations Expected in the Coming Weeks.
New York Mayor Eric Adams has just announced plans to establish a Digital Advisory Council with the expectation of making the city the "crypto capital of the world". This move was made at the first New York City Crypto Conference on May 20, marking an important step in building a digital financial ecosystem in one of the world's largest financial centers.
According to Adams, the Advisory Council will bring together top experts in blockchain, digital assets, and financial technology to propose policies that attract investment and create jobs in this field. The first recommendations from the council are expected to be announced in the coming weeks. He emphasized that this is not a pursuit of temporary trends but a long-term vision to apply future technology to bring practical benefits to New York residents starting today.
Although the specific composition of the Advisory Council has not been disclosed, the city administration said the council chair and key policy content will be announced soon. Additionally, the city is implementing several initiatives to realize this vision. On May 12, New York announced a collaboration with financial services company Figure and two private investment funds – Traction and Scale – to promote blockchain technology and crypto asset projects.
Options allowing citizens to pay certain taxes and public services with cryptocurrency are being seriously considered. Meanwhile, authorities are also studying the possibility of using blockchain for storing and securing sensitive information such as birth and death certificates to ensure privacy and flexible traceability.
Mayor Adams' personal commitment to digital assets was clearly demonstrated when he took office in January 2022, declaring that he would receive his first three paychecks in Bitcoin. Regarding a previous accusation involving illegal contributions from the Turkish government, the case was dismissed as biased on April 2 – meaning it cannot be re-prosecuted – after the US Department of Justice confirmed there was no basis to continue the investigation.
While the city administration is pushing forward with new technology approaches, New York state legislators are also making their own efforts. In April, Assemblyman Clyde Vanel proposed a bill to amend the state's financial law, allowing government agencies to accept cryptocurrency payments. However, this bill has not yet been discussed in the state legislature.
Earlier, in February, Senator James Sanders Jr. proposed the Blockchain Study Act – a law aimed at establishing a task force to survey the state of digital assets – but it has not yet passed the preliminary review.
At the federal level, US states are increasingly actively testing and establishing cryptocurrency management policies. According to data from the Bitcoin Reserve Monitor, at least 18 states are considering bills to establish Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Funds. New Hampshire and Arizona are two pioneering states that have passed this law, reflecting a trend of local governments actively participating in the planning and control of the digital asset space.
