New York City's new mayor, Eric Adams, plans to convert his first paycheck this week into two cryptocurrencies, which he has been hyping as a potential economic engine for the city.
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The Democrat's office announced Thursday that Adams' first salary payment will be deposited with Coinbase, an online platform used for buying cryptocurrency, and then converted into Ethereum and Bitcoin.
"New York is the center of the world, and we want it to be the center of cryptocurrency and other financial innovations," Adams said in a statement. "Being on the forefront of such innovation will help us create jobs, improve our economy, and continue to be a magnet for talent from all over the globe."
Adams' use of his public office to promote the crypto industry drew criticism from at least one upstate New York environmental group, Seneca Lake Guardian, which noted that creating and managing cryptocurrency can consume enormous amounts of energy, often produced by power plants that contribute to climate change.
State Attorney General Letitia James has investigated cryptocurrency trading platforms and warned last year that investors "should proceed with extreme caution when investing in virtual currencies."
