Miami’s enthusiasm for crypto is waning ahead of the annual Bitcoin conference
Amid a bearish crypto market, Miami and its Mayor Francis Suarez are apparently losing enthusiasm for cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, according to some industry observers.
Suarez has long been praised by the sector’s representatives for his plans to transform the city into a leading crypto hub.
The mayor continues to collect his salary in Bitcoin (BTC) despite last year’s market crash and extended bear market.
In July 2022, he even declared that crypto’s growing popularity presented a major opportunity for his city, as it could enable Miami to “beat Silicon Valley” as it “leans into innovation”.
That said, as the city prepares to host another edition of Bitcoin 2023, an annual event that bills itself as the “largest Bitcoin conference” with more than 15,000 attendees and more than 2,000 companies scheduled to attend the show between May 18 and 20, Miami’s crypto landscape is much different from what it was during last year’s show, The Wall Street Journal reported.
“A year ago, when the annual Bitcoin conference opened in Miami, the city was arguably the nation’s biggest booster for digital currencies.
MiamiCoin is traded on a global crypto exchange.
The Miami Heat basketball team played at the FTX Arena, and cryptocurrency exchange Blockchain.com was preparing to move its headquarters to a sprawling office in the city’s Wynwood neighborhood, according to the paper.
A year later, none of the above is true anymore, reflecting how turbulent 2022 was for crypto, but also for Miami.
After FTX collapsed, the city’s NBA team now plays its home postseason games at the Kaseya Center, and the exchange that housed MiamiCoin stopped trading crypto after its value lost more than 99% of its value.
Blockchain.com also dropped its original plans to move into Wynwood.
Meanwhile, Suarez has lost some of his optimism on how crypto can boost the city’s economy.
“We thought it was a great opportunity, as a fintech marker, for us to jump in and be able to differentiate ourselves,” the mayor said of cryptocurrencies in a recent interview.
“I don’t regret that we are innovative. You learn, you grow, you get stronger.”
Local officials, entrepreneurs lose enthusiasm for crypto
Since last year’s edition of the Bitcoin show, many Miami officials and leading entrepreneurs have also changed their narrative about crypto, no longer expecting it to become a key element in the city’s drive to become a major hub for business and innovation.
“Most of crypto was a pyramid scheme,” said Ryan Kirkley, a local entrepreneur who runs and advises early-stage blockchain and artificial intelligence companies and helps connect them to venture capital.
In a telling sign, attendance at the Miami NFT conference in April 2023 dropped by about 1,500 compared to last year’s edition, according to an event spokesperson. T
the show was forced to move to an area roughly half the size of the 45,000 sq ft warehouse, which housed the 2022 edition.
