The Mayor of Austin, Texas, Steve Adler, has immersed himself in discovering what blockchain technology and crypto payments can bring to his city.proposing two new initiatives.
The first initiative aims to ensure that the fourth largest city in Texas promotes the benefits of blockchain technologies and “foster equity, diversity, accessibility, and inclusion” in the technology ecosystem. To that end, May Adler directed the city manager to explore how the city can use Web3 and blockchain in 20 fields, from smart contracts, supply chain management and insurance to the arts, media, fundraising and identity verification.
“The city manager is directed to ensure that the city is helping to create an environment within the city government and in the community in general that supports the creation and development of new technologies, including without limitation blockchain and other technologies, protocols and applications related to Web3.”
Mayor Adler’s second initiative directs the city manager to conduct a “research study” into how the city might adopt policies related to Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrencies. Through these efforts, Mayor Adler appears to want to find ways for Austinites to legally pay their bills with cryptocurrency.
Austin is excited to support the businesses and innovations that will turn the promises of Web3, cryptocurrency, and blockchain technology into reality. Thank you @MK6ATX for her resolution and @RaffiSapire, @consensus2022, @JoshuaBaerand @PrestonLJ2 for their leadership! #SXSW pic.twitter.com/HdmuGA0l2Y
— Major Adler | Get vaccinated! (@MayorAdler) March 11, 2022
Austin is excited to support the companies and innovations that will bring the promises of Web3, cryptocurrency, and blockchain technology to life. Thanks to @MK6ATX for their resolution and to @RaffiSapire, @consensus2022, @JoshuaBaer, and @PrestonLJ2 for their leadership! #SXSW
Under this initiative, the city manager must find a way to allow “the acceptance of bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies as payment for municipal taxes, fees and penalties” as the first set of policies to study.
The success of the two initiatives will be based on the level of impact the new apps have on the daily lives of Austinites. The proposals will be voted on by the city council on March 24.
The Austin City Council has been considering blockchain technology integrations since at least 2020when it was proposed to use smart contracts for the MyPass identity verification protocol.
Austin Joins Miami, New York City, and the State of Colorado in Rapidly Expanding Exploration Efforts and Proposed Cryptocurrency-Related Policy Implementation. Miami and New York have already launched their own citywide coin projects through City Coin on the Stacks layer 1 blockchain, while Austin’s own program is still in development.
Philadelphia has expressed interest in joining the City Coins program, while Colorado Governor Jared Polis said in an interview on Feb. 15 that the state will accept crypto for “state tax-related purposes.” Later it hopes to accept cryptocurrencies for a broader range of state government services.
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