Before his indictment on criminal charges, NYC Mayor Eric Adams promised to turn the city into a major crypto hub.
Three years before cryptocurrency became a talking point in the United States presidential election for the first time, a different crypto-focused race was brewing in New York City to determine who would replace outgoing Mayor Bill DeBlasio.
Democrat Eric Adams was squaring off against Republican Curtis Sliwa, and both were campaigning on the promise of being pro-crypto mayors. Adams had recently defeated Andrew Yang, another crypto proponent, in the Democratic Party primary.
On the campaign trail, Adams promised to make NYC the “center of Bitcoins.” He was elected mayor in November 2021, after which he continued to pledge the city would become “the center of the cryptocurrency industry” and argued cryptocurrency should be taught in schools.