MiamiCoin (MIA) was launched in August 2021. The coin has made Miami the frontrunner in what may become a series of cities introducing a so-called city coin. New York is next up. Last week, Miami announced that it wants to pay citizens yield resulting from the city's crypto treasury.

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez sees city coins as a potential new way for cities to support themselves. In a September 23 interview, he states that the MiamiCoin treasury of the city could be a way to finance itself other than raising taxes.

And now it's becoming clear that Miami residents may experience other benefits from the coin as well: yields. Through a digital wallet (app), Miami can pay yield over time.

Miamicoin was developed by an outside party called CityCoins, with involvement from the city. CityCoins are based on a protocol called Stacks, which is interoperable with smart contracts on the Bitcoin blockchain.

Who invests in MiamiCoin?

You can think of MiamiCoin as a community token. Still, investors don't necessarily have to be residents of Miami. Anyone can currently mine the coin: 30% of the mined coins go to the city’s treasury. Do you believe in the "brand" Miami? Do you believe in the investment climate and monetary policy of the city that wants to make itself a little more financially independent? Anyone who believes in this could invest.

Miami’s crypto-friendliness

Miami was already on its way to becoming one of the most progressive crypto cities in the U.S. The goal stated by the mayor is to make the city the largest crypto ecosystem in the U.S. in the following way:

• With cheap energy for Bitcoin miners and favourable regulations for trading houses.
• When permitted by the state of Florida, the mayor wants to put Bitcoin on the city's balance sheet.
• There are plans to allow citizens to pay taxes in crypto and get paid in

Competition from the city of New York?

Meanwhile, the mayor-elect of New York City Eric Adams is also pushing hard. Like Suarez, he wants to make his city the centre of the crypto industry - or: web 3.0, as both mayors also call it. Adams already announced his intention to receive his first three monthly salaries in Bitcoin. And New York City has also enlisted CityCoins to launch NYCCoin.

Incidentally, New York could use some windfall when it comes to crypto-friendliness. The state of New York is by no means an ideal location for crypto companies due to the obligation of their expensive and strict license BitLicense.