Miami mayor plans to take his next paycheck in Bitcoin

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has committed to taking his next paycheck fully in Bitcoin, becoming the first known U.S. politician to make such a move.

In a Tuesday Twitter post, Suarez said he aimed to be the first United States lawmaker at the state or federal level to accept part of his salary in Bitcoin (BTC).

The tweet was the Miami Mayor’s response to investor and entrepreneur Anthony Pompliano saying “it is time” and asking “who is going to be the first American politician to accept their salary in Bitcoin?”

Public records show the Miami mayor’s salary was $97,000 annually between 2016 and 2017, meaning he would receive a monthly paycheck of more than $8,000 or 0.13 BTC at a price of $63,404, assuming residents did not vote to increase his compensation for public service. According to the Miami Herald, the mayor of the city of Miami earns now a salary of $187,500.

Suarez said that he would prefer to use an app like Bitwage or Strike rather than have the local government go through the effort to convert his fiat paycheck into crypto.

This announcement follows mid-February reports that Miami passed the Mayor’s Bitcoin resolution, resulting in the city analyzing the incorporation of Bitcoin in the municipal government’s finances. At the time, Suarez said that the state would give legislative priority to BTC, look into paying employees in the cryptocurrency and also make efforts to invest its treasury in the digital coin.

Mayor Suarez is vocal about turning Miami into a Bitcoin hub, which would integrate Bitcoin into city operations and allow employees to receive their paychecks in Bitcoin. The latter might not be necessary for actual implementation by the city since people can do that with solutions such as Strike already. But enabling citizens to pay for city fees and taxes is also in the mayor’s plans.