New York mayor suffers from receiving salary in digital currency

 New York mayor suffers from receiving salary in digital currency

Bloomberg calculates Eric Adams is currently losing more than $900 after taking his salary in Bitcoin and Ethereum last week.

In November 2021, when newly elected, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he would receive his first three salaries in Bitcoin. After taking office on January 1, the mayor's office confirmed to Bloomberg that his first salary ($9,924) was converted into Bitcoin and Ethereum on January 21. Coinbase Global handles this conversion through a feature that allows users to transfer some or all of their salary to a digital wallet.

Bloomberg calculates that if Adams paid the 40% tax, he would receive about $5,954. Based on the closing prices of Bitcoin and Ethereum on January 20, assuming the above funds are divided equally between Bitcoin and Ethereum, he has lost $923 as of January 24.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Photo: Bloomberg

New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Photo: Bloomberg

Coinbase confirmed Adams' salary was transferred to last week. However, the exchange declined to disclose how much the mayor allocates to Bitcoin and Ether. Coinbase says users can adjust this rate at any time.

Despite the recent devaluation of cryptocurrencies, Adams doesn't seem to care. In a recent interview with CNN, he ignored the damage, emphasizing that he is a "long-term investor" in cryptocurrencies. Of course, Adams can still make a profit if the price of the cryptocurrency bounces back and he buys at a low price.

Bitcoin is currently trading around $36,000, its lowest since August 2021. Other cryptocurrencies also fell sharply.

Adams has announced plans to make New York "the center of the cryptocurrency industry" and other financial breakthroughs. He is also working on creating NYC Coin. On CNN, Adams affirmed that he still supports the acceleration of digital asset adoption in New York, encouraging young people to "join emerging markets".