Cryptocurrency: Magic Internet Money In The Magic City

The cryptocurrency craze seems to be affecting everyone. According to search aggregator, Google trends, there’s been a 400% increase in Google searches with the terms crypto, cryptocurrency, and bitcoin. In particular, the state of Florida has a Google search interest of over 80% in crypto-related terms.

This hype can be attributed to a number of different reasons:

a) As lockdowns were imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, people were trapped indoors with more free time than they knew what to do with. As a result, a sizeable number decided to delve into cryptocurrency just for the fun of it. As more people got interested, the crypto market grew significantly,  which thus attracted more people looking to enjoy the massive profits to be made in the crypto space.

b) The Gamestop/WallStreetBets drama revealed the rot in the stock market and centralized financial system. This caused more people to clamor for decentralized finance (Defi).

Defi involves the elimination of middlemen such as banks and brokerages when transacting, by using smart contracts on the blockchain. For example, rather than sending money through my bank to your bank for a purchase, I can simply transfer the money to you directly without any intermediaries. This also applies to other transactions such as lending, betting, crowdfunding, and insurance.

Cryptocurrency and blockchain technology are the building blocks of Defi. This, coupled with the opportunity to enjoy far greater returns than the stock market, drove more volume into the cryptocurrency market.

c) The technology is far superior to that used by centralized financial systems. Cryptocurrency has a plethora of use-cases. Some crypto like Bitcoin can be used as a store of value; others like Ethereum and Cardano serve as Operating systems (OS) similar to the android and apple OS, which enables Decentralized Apps (DApps) to build on them. Some grant holders voting rights in an organization, others offer lending services.

DApps are digital applications that are free from the control of a single person or organization once published. In other words, in a twitter-like DApp, your messages cannot be deleted, neither can your account be suspended by the creator.

Cryptocurrency also offers strong security, faster transfer times, low transfer fees, and direct ownership which make it a preferred favorite amongst retail traders.

d) In a time when banks offer 0.1% annual interest on savings, cryptocurrency assets can gain up to 1000% ROI in just a few weeks. It is therefore a no-brainer that people would be more interested in projects that can give them several times their investment in just a fraction of time.

Trading the very volatile cryptocurrency market can also give traders a “high” and thrill hardly seen in other markets.

While older investors such as Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, and the United States Secretary of Treasury, Janet Yellen remain skeptical about all things crypto, the 43-year-old mayor of Miami, Mayor Francis Suarez is determined to make Miami the hub for cryptocurrency. He imagines a future where Miami is the center for technological and cryptocurrency advancements in the US. The mayor has been trying to attract the technology industry to relocate to Miami from places like Silicon Valley, and it seems it’s starting to work.

According to the Miami Herald, MANA Wynwood in Miami will hold the world’s biggest cryptocurrency convention with an expected crowd of over 10,000 attendees this June. He is also working alongside billionaire Elon Musk to build a new transit system within Miami’s core. This is to be done by Musk’s company, The Boring Company, to decongest the city’s traffic with a system of small tunnels to be plied by electric cars capable of carrying up to 5 passengers.

This still pales in comparison to Suarez’s plans for cryptocurrency adoption in Miami. He has pushed for the city to hold Bitcoin in the treasury and plans to allow tax payments in Bitcoin. The mayor has also requested that commissioners vote to use cryptocurrency to pay employees.

District 8 County Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins indicated that a resolution to invoke a 13-member cryptocurrency task force has been submitted to the city’s Infrastructure, Operations and Innovation Committee. The task force is to deliberate over the possibility of residents paying for county services and fees using cryptocurrencies.

As with all things cryptocurrency, this crypto-centric focus of Mayor Suarez is generating significant buzz, drawing attention to Miami as a haven for crypto enthusiasts. This impact can be seen within local Miami businesses such as E11even, one of Miami’s biggest nightclubs, accepting cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum as payment for services, and the Miami-Dade County accepting to rename American Airlines Arena after a cryptocurrency platform.

Miami has been slowly building a reputation as the capital city of cryptocurrency, as it is where Wunderkind, Vitalik Buterin first unveiled the King of altcoins, Ethereum at the Bitcoin Miami conference in 2014 (Altcoins refer to all other cryptocurrencies except Bitcoin).

According to Suarez, decentralized information systems which Ethereum can offer are becoming a priority for Miami, especially during security concerns like the upcoming hurricane season. This, despite Ethereum’s present scalability issues.

While Ethereum is still in transition from the more capital and energy-intensive Proof of Work (PoW) model to that of the Proof of Stake (PoS) model, which would allow for faster transactions times and cheaper transaction costs, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin claims that it is necessary for the collaborative project between the city of Miami and Ethereum to get underway to be prepared as soon as Eth V2.0 rolls out.

Miami, under the leadership of Mayor Francis Suarez, is strategically positioning itself as the next crypto and tech hub, similar to Silicon Valley during the Internet boom. Only time can tell what the long-term effects of this adoption of cryptocurrency will have on Miami and Florida as a whole.