Despite its record-low price, Miami Coin is going to stick around for some time according to Mayor Francis Suarez.
The Price of Miami Coin Is Low
Miami Coin is a new digital asset built for the city of Miami in Florida. The currency has only been around for a few months but is part of the region’s goal to become one of the most crypto-oriented cities in the United States. Suarez initially had the currency commissioned to give residents an opportunity to pay utility bills with digital currency, though now the asset has expanded into something much larger. The currency offers staking opportunities and has become something of a staple of Miami life in many ways.
There’s just one little problem… The currency is trading at an unusually low price. Since launching six months ago in August of 2021, Miami Coin is “enjoying” the lowest stock price in its short history. Despite this, Francis Suarez says that the city has no plans to abandon the crypto initiatives it’s looking to instill, one of which is higher usage of Miami Coin.
In a recent interview, Suarez assured viewers that the currency was not a failure, explaining:
It’s been a success from the perspective of what it’s done for the city, right? It generated $20 million in revenue for the city because a percentage of the mining benefit is separated into a digital wallet for the city. That’s $5 million that we’ve used for rent stabilization funds. We’re seeing because of inflation, rents rising across the country, and the other $15 million, we’re doing something very innovative.
That’s Not the Only Thing We Should Look At
He continued to say that while he acknowledges the low trading price, he doesn’t feel price is always the best indicator of how a currency is doing, pointing to bitcoin’s dismal (and recent) drop to about $36,000 at the time of writing as an example. He says:
Obviously, the price is down significantly. I’ve never obsessed over the price, neither bitcoin nor Miami Coin. I think what Mark Cuban said is very accurate. This is in the first inning, all these technologies, and what’s important is the liquidity rate being able to get in and out of it because the utility is essentially what is going to be important as to whether any of these technologies survive in the long run. Are they very useful? Do they provide people the ability to exchange these currencies for goods in a variety of different countries? Do they allow for remittances? Do they break up authoritarian regimes because they don’t control the currency? I mean, there’s a lot of great use cases, and it remains to be seen whether they will all be utilized.
Not long ago, Suarez engaged in some online banter with New York City Mayor Eric Adams over which city would become the most crypto friendly in the country.