Today, Eric Adams, the Mayor of New York City, announced he would be taking his first paycheck in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) with the funds arriving Friday. The salary will not be directly paid out as crypto. Instead, it is first issued in fiat U.S. dollar and then converted into digital currencies on Coinbase.
Due to the U.S. Department of Labor and various state-level regulations, resident U.S. employees typically cannot receive their remuneration directly in cryptocurrency. This is partly because the Internal Revenue Service classifies fiat USD wage payments as income, whereas items such as stock-based compensation or cryptocurrencies are classified as property.
Mayor Adams issued the following statement regarding his choice of remuneration:
New York is the center of the world, and we want it to be the center of cryptocurrency and other financial innovations. Being at 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.
Matt Fraser, NYC’s chief technology officer, added:
This step taken by the mayor provides a leading example of how we can empower people through tech with a more diverse set of options to manage their finances.