Today, New York City hosted its first ever crypto summit.
The event took place at Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s residence, and was attended by prominent figures from the crypto industry, many of whom are based in New York.
At the event, Mayor Adams made the case that he felt the attendees’ pain, stating that they’ve wrongfully been persecuted, and he claimed that it’s now safe for those in the Bitcoin and crypto industry to both speak up and set up shop in New York.
“Look how they’ve treated you,” said Mayor Adams.
“You were treated as though you were the enemy instead of the believers,” he added.
“You’ve been hiding in the shadows, afraid to come out — come out now.”
As Mayor Adams continued, he recommitted to making New York the “crypto capital of the world,” something he first claimed he’d do in 2021, though not much has materialized on this front since then.
New York has continued to be a jurisdiction that’s nearly impossible for Bitcoin and crypto start ups to do business in thanks to the BitLicense, a license required to operate a digital asset company within the state.
Obtaining a BitLicense often costs upwards of $100,000 and takes months, if not years, of cutting through red tape and hopping over bureaucratic hurdles to attain.
Most start ups don’t have the time or funds to obtain one.
So, when Mayor Adams and New York City’s Chief Technology Officer, Matthew Fraser, tasked the attendees at today’s event, with coming up with solutions that would help to make New York City a more crypto-friendly jurisdiction, many brought up the need to abolish the BitLicense — or to at least make New York City immune to its reach.
New York City As A Bitcoin And Crypto Sanctuary City
“To build a thriving [crypto] economy, we have to get rid of the BitLicense,” said one attendee. “We at least need to build a regulatory sandbox in New York City.”
Another attendee argued that “New York City should become a sanctuary city from the BitLicense.”
Attendees made comments like these after sessions of roundtable discussions during which the attendees discussed different issues related to Bitcoin and crypto before having a representative from their table share proposals with the room at large. (Because the attendees agreed to honor the Chatham House Rule, I cannot offer the names of those who spoke on behalf of their groups at the event. However, I can offer the names of the keynote speakers.)
Another attendee who said that New York should become a “crypto sanctuary city” pointed out that there is precedent for this, as the city allowed the cannabis industry to operate within its borders while the rest of the state did not.
Nick Spanos, who founded the first in-person exchange and the earliest in-person Bitcoin meeting space in New York City, the Bitcoin Center, in 2013, also made the case for New York as a crypto sanctuary city.
“We’re giving sanctuary to immigrants — we can give sanctuary to crypto companies,” he said in an impassioned tone.
Spanos went on to critique the BitLicense, calling into question its legitimacy.
“What kind of license is it when, after 12 years, there are only 30 of them?!” cried Spanos. “That’s an insider license!”
Now Is The Time To Pass Crypto Legislation In New York State
Galaxy CEO Mike Novogratz highlighted that now is the time for New York to pass legislation that will benefit the crypto industry.
“After five difficult years, DC has said let’s embrace this technology,” said Novogratz, alluding to the notion that New York should follow the federal government’s lead.
“New York State has not made crypto easy — it’s taken a long time for people to get licenses,” he added.
Novogratz also shared that the crypto industry is “ready for take off,” though he also put the onus on the industry to prove itself by creating products that provide real value to users.
He concluded by saying that, thus far, he’s only really seen value in Bitcoin and stablecoins.
On the topic of stablecoins, Brock Pierce, co-founder of Tether, called on Albany (New York’s capitol) to pass Assembly Bill 6266 and Senate Bill 3262, both of which would establish requirements for the creation and operation of limited purpose trust companies if enacted into law. Such a law would seemingly play a role in enabling Tether to operate in New York.
Other Suggestions For Crypto Applications From The Attendees
A number of attendees also suggested creating crypto products that would help offer financial services to New York City’s approximately 305,000 residents who do not have a bank account (though, none suggested including bitcoin in these services).
Many also stressed the importance of “crypto and blockchain education” within New York’s public school system.
Even Mayor Adams touched on this in his talk.
“Every young person in the DOE [Department of Education] should know about blockchain and crypto,” he said.
And one attendee suggested using blockchain to safeguard the city’s public records.
(I piggybacked on this idea by suggesting that the city consider employing Simple Proof, a company that utilizes the OpenTimestamps protocol on Bitcoin to safeguard public documents, including election results, to help safeguard its important documents.)
Call To Action
Mayor Adams said that when he, the “mayor of the greatest city on the globe,” starts talking about Bitcoin and crypto the rest of the world will pay attention.
For this reason, he said he wanted the best and brightest to help guide him as he broaches the topic.
At the conclusion of the event, attendees were asked to share their notes so that Adams’ team could review them and potentially call on certain attendees to help the mayor forge a more favorable regulatory path forward.
It seems his staff was primed to help, as Fraser asked the attendees to “help the city deregulate the industry.”
Only time will now tell if Mayor Adams and his team will follow through on working with the Bitcoin and crypto industry to make it easier for companies to operate in New York City, or if he’ll lose interest in such an initiative, like he did four years ago.
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Frank Corva