Amid a bearish crypto market, Miami and its mayor Francis Suarez are seemingly losing their enthusiasm for cryptocurrencies and the blockchain technology, according to industry observers. Suarez, once praised by the sector’s representatives for his plans to transform the city into a leading crypto hub, continues to collect his salary in Bitcoin despite last year’s market crash and the extended bear market. In July 2022, he claimed that the growth of cryptocurrencies presented a huge opportunity for Miami, enabling the city to potentially “beat the Silicon Valley” as it was leaning into innovation.
However, as Miami is preparing to host another edition of Bitcoin 2023, an annual event claiming to be the “largest Bitcoin conference” with over 15,000 attendees and more than 2,000 companies scheduled to attend, the city’s crypto landscape has changed significantly from last year. Gone are the days when MiamiCoin traded on a global crypto exchange, the Miami Heat basketball team played at FTX Arena, and cryptocurrency exchange Blockchain.com was preparing to move to a flashy office in Wynwood.
A year later, none of these things are true, reflecting not only the turbulence of 2022 for crypto but also for Miami itself. Following FTX’s collapse, the city’s NBA team is now playing its postseason home games at Kaseya Center, while the exchange that accommodated MiamiCoin stopped trading the asset after its value lost over 99%. Moreover, Blockchain.com has dropped its initial plans to move into Wynwood.
In the meantime, Suarez seems to have lost some of his optimism about how cryptocurrencies could boost the city’s economy. He remarked in a recent interview that Miami’s venture into the crypto space was a great opportunity for the city to differentiate itself as a fintech marker, adding, “I don’t regret us being innovative. You learn, you grow, you get stronger.”
Many local officials and leading entrepreneurs in Miami have also adjusted their narrative on crypto since last year’s Bitcoin event. They no longer view it as a key element for the city’s drive towards becoming a major hub for business and innovation. According to entrepreneur Ryan Kirkley, who runs and advises early-stage blockchain and artificial-intelligence businesses, “Most of the crypto was a pyramid scheme.”
One notable development is the decline in attendance at the Miami NFT Conference in April 2023, dropping by around 1,500 compared to last year’s edition. This forced the event to relocate to a space roughly half the size of the 45,000 square foot warehouse that hosted its 2022 edition. This change in sentiment around cryptocurrencies in Miami raises questions about the future role and impact of digital assets, as well as the long-term success of the city’s efforts to establish itself as a major innovator in the blockchain and cryptocurrency industries.
Source: Cryptonews
