Miami to hand out free bitcoin
The mayor of Miami, Florida vowed to distribute the proceeds generated from an innovative cryptocurrency project – ‘MiamiCoin’ – to city residents, saying the “revolutionary” system could eventually replace traditional taxation.
According to Francis Suarez, who won reelection earlier this month, every citizen that sets up a digital wallet will be eligible to receive a Bitcoin dividend.
“We’re going to be the first city in America to give a bitcoin yield as a dividend directly to its residents,” Suarez said in a Thursday interview with CoinDesk TV.
“We’re going to create digital wallets for our residents, and we’re going to give them bitcoin directly from the yield of MiamiCoin.”
Introduced in August, MiamiCoin is seen as one of the most prominent steps on the way to adoption of crypto by the Florida city. It was launched through the nonprofit CityCoins, and reportedly generated yields in excess of $21 million for the city. The reserve wallet is able to convert MiamiCoin deposits into US dollars by a command from the city authorities.
According to Mayor Suarez, if MiamiCoin continues to generate yields at that rate, it’s possible that they could entirely cover the city’s tax needs.Suarez added that it’s not necessary for citizens to own any MiamiCoin in order to be eligible for the free bitcoin.
“We’re going to create digital wallets for our residents. And we’re going to give them bitcoin directly from the yield of MiamiCoin,” he said, highlighting that the ultimate goal was to get bitcoin into the hands of more people.
The Miami Coin price surged 18% to a daily high of $0.02369489 shortly after the announcement, according to data tracked by CoinGecko.
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