New York City Mayor Eric Adams says his goal is to make New York City the “crypto capital”…

New York City Mayor Eric Adams says his goal is to make New York City the “crypto capital” of the world, ahead of the NYC crypto summit next week. Adams met with NYC’s Chief Technology Officer on Monday in front of reporters to address the city’s moves to accelerate crypto adoption in the city. With crypto becoming a hot subject on a federal and economic level, individual cities and states are introducing their own crypto initiatives, and New York City will be the latest to do so, according to Mayor Adams.

“My goal remains the same as it was on day one as mayor, making New York City the crypto capital of the globe,” Adams said to the press. “And as you remember, I supported crypto long before any of my mayoral peers. I was the first American mayor to have my initial three paychecks converted into crypto way back in 2022. Many people laughed at me, and all I can say is, who’s laughing now?”

The crypto summit next week will host a variety of crypto companies to discuss mutual benefits between the city and the crypto industry. New York’s crypto industry — as well as its banking and insurance industries — is regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), which has a reputation as a tough regulator. NYDFS issues the notoriously difficult-to-get Bitlicense, a special license required to do business as a crypto company in New York. Adams, who is running for re-election as mayor, is openly against the Bitlicense, and follows a similar crypto stance to US president Donald Trump.

“Technology in New York City is one of New York City’s fastest-growing industries,” Adams also said Monday. “And we’re in the midst of nothing short of a technological revolution, the age of tokenization, which includes crypto, blockchain, and other fintech innovations. It’s not the future, it is here, and it’s here now. And when it comes to immense opportunities to grow our economy, it’s New York.”

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Furthermore, when asked about New York’s regulatory environment on Monday, however, Adams seemed to strike a more conciliatory tone towards NYDFS, saying that “it’s good to know that the city is going to have safe regulations in place for those who are investing, and there’s not going to be any abuses.” “But at the same time, we can overregulate and prevent growth,” Adams added. “There’s a level of safety that comes with the right regulations, but overregulations can hurt this industry and we don’t want that to happen.”

The New York City crypto Summit is scheduled for May 20th.