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Part of the profits Miami City Hall is making from the Miami Coin crypto-currency is going to help city residents to deal with rising rental housing prices, which are at record levels.
Of the $20 million the mayor’s office received in four months from Miami Coin transactions, $5 million will be allocated to a rental fund to help residents with rent problems, Mayor Francis Suárez announced.
In 2021 Miami partnered with CityCoin, an organization that facilitates the launch of digital assets to support municipalities, and the example was also followed by New York.
CityCoin’s digital currencies generate earnings through a process known as “staking,” which consists of keeping them locked in an electronic wallet for the purpose of receiving earnings or rewards.
This process contributes, at the same time, to the operation and functioning of the block-chain of that same crypto-currency.
In the case of CityCoin, 30% of the rewards go to the Municipal Treasury and 70% is distributed among those who mine the currency, the so-called miners.
From the $5 million fund drawn from the Municipality’s wallet to help cope with the housing rent hike, those who have lived within the city for at least three years can benefit as well as the ones affected by an increase of over 20 %, the Mayor explained.
The benefit is limited to only one person per household and to households with an income below a limit set by the Mayor’s Office.
Suárez said he initially thought the income they would receive from Miami Coin would be about $3 million or $4 million annually, but in the first 4 months it added up to $20 million.
“In Miami, 30% of the residents are homeowners and 70% are renters. The largest number of residents who live as renters are concentrated downtown, so I think that many of them will benefit from this program,” said the Mayor.
Ken Russell, Commissioner for District 2, noted that Miami has the worst housing affordability in the country.
“We don’t want to be victims of our success by raising prices while pushing residents out of our city. How do we use success to benefit the most vulnerable? That is exactly what we are doing today and I am very proud of this announcement,” he pointed out.
Within the United States, Miami is one of the most crypto-currency-friendly cities that in early June hosted the first Bitcoin Conference, which was supported by Suárez and attended by thousands of people.
In Miami, it is already possible to purchase real estate or even apply for a mortgage in crypto-currencies.
