After El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as its legal currency, the adoption of cryptocurrencies started to increase at the level of cities.
The crypto-friendly approach of the Mayors of Miami and New York may cause many cities to turn to this area.
An example of this came from Brazil. Two weeks ago, the mayor of Rio de Janeiro reported that he has plans to add cryptocurrencies to the city treasury.
Chicão Bulhões, the Economic Development Secretary of Rio De Janeiro, one of the most populated cities in Brazil, who is the guest of Coindesk, talked about his plans for cryptocurrencies.
Stating that they were inspired by the crypto money moves of Miami, Bulhões said that they plan to allocate 1% of Rio De Janeiro’s treasury reserves to cryptocurrencies. In addition, discounts will be applied to tax payments made with Bitcoin.
Stating that these news excited the public, Bulhões added:
“Suddenly, the city got really excited about it. All the press here in Brazil and Latin America wanted to know more and understand what the city was doing. It also felt like Rio de Janeiro was back.”
Speaking about possible cryptocurrency regulations in the country, Bulhões said:
“The federal government is much stronger than us in making decisions about cryptocurrencies. However, I think the government is ready to make a regulation on cryptocurrencies. We don’t know yet if this will be good regulation for the cryptocurrency community. We’re just getting started. But we know that Rio wants the cryptocurrency community to grow here.”
Rio de Janeiro is the capital of one of Brazil’s 26 states and the country’s main tourist destination. It is the second largest city in Brazil after São Paulo.