City of Miami Launches 5,000 Ethereum NFTs with TIME, Mastercard, Salesforce

Miami makes NFTs.

City of Miami Mayor Francis X. Suarez shared plans Thursday release 5000 Ethereum NFT later this year. Miami partners with TIME magazine publisher Time USA, Mastercard and Salesforce to make it happen.

The NFTs— unique blockchain tokens signifying ownership — are being designed by 56 different Miami artists “representing the city’s 56 square mile area,” according to a the city’s press release.

Time USA will help define the city’s NFT strategy as well as execute the project, while Mastercard will offer Miami NFT holders exclusive benefits such as special event access at restaurants and private cultural tours of the city.

Salesforce will manage the NFTs minting and primary sales process with its new NFT Cloud platform, a yet-to-be-released Salesforce product that allows brands to create and sell NFTs.

TIME President Keith Grossman, who is also at Salesforce‘s Web3 Advisory Board, told Decrypt that the Miami NFT project is TIME‘its first attempt to help other entities implement NFT projects– and hinted that more could be coming soon.

He said the Miami NFTs are all about giving holders the opportunity to unlock unique experiences.

“The artwork will reflect the tremendous diversity represented in the city of Miami,” Grossman added.

As the President of El Salvador Nayib Bukele—whose passion for Bitcoin is unwavering—Mayor Suarez seems unfazed by the current crypto bear market, which has led some crypto companies to lay off employees and file for bankruptcy.

“We will continue to use these new technologies to support our existing businesses while attracting new ones,” Suarez said of crypto and NFTs in a statement.

Suarez’s office has yet to respond Decryptits request for comment.

Miami’s Ethereum NFTs — slated for a December launch following Ethereum’s move to proof-of-stake — aren’t the city’s first foray into crypto and Web3. Suarez launched MiamiCoin (MIA), an altcoin that the city wanted in a wallet and others could buy, back last August.

It generated approx 8 million dollars in revenue for the city in just two months, but is now down a shocking 98.9% from its all-time high, according to CoinMarketCap data.

Since then, Miami has unlocked or wagered most of MIA to earn one return in Bitcoinand shared plans to return an unspecified amount of said returns to the citizens of Miami.

From altcoins to NFTs, it looks like Miami isn’t giving up on crypto anytime soon.