Miami Mayor said his city could offer a better alternative of cheap nuclear energy to Chinese miners who face harsh regulation.
The Mayor of Miami, Francis Suarez, told CNBC that the doors of his city were open to Chinese Bitcoin miners who had recently faced repression by their own officials.
Suarez told CNBC: “We want to make sure that our city has a chance to compete”. “We are talking to a lot of companies, we just say, ‘Hey, we want you to be here”.
Suarez is a well-known Bitcoin advocate who has publicly stated that he owns the asset and he has been taking deliberate measures.
By integrating Bitcoin and other disruptive technologies into city operations, Miami is ahead of other U.S. cities. Therefore, the city can already be regarded as a hotbed of the most important cryptocurrency.
Miami’s website hosts the Bitcoin white paper, and the city hosted the largest Bitcoin conference in history, Bitcoin 2021, earlier this month. In addition, Miami residents will soon be able to use Bitcoin to pay their taxes.
Suarez now hopes to bring the most critical Bitcoin industry into his City. Although he claimed that he did not personally receive calls from Chinese miners, the mayor hopes to take advantage of Miami’s clean and cheap nuclear power supply.
He also said that “The fact that we have nuclear power means it is very cheap energy”. “We understand how important this is and the miners want to obtain a specific kW/h price, and also we are working with them to achieve it.”
According to CNBC, nuclear energy is one of the largest generators of power in Florida, second only to natural gas. The mayor is looking for ways to further reduce energy costs.
According to the report, Suarez is “already in negotiations with Florida Electric and Lighting Company to understand how to further reduce energy prices.”
In addition, the mayor is also considering establishing a commercial area dedicated to Bitcoin mining.
Commercial activities in these areas will benefit from special tax incentives, infrastructure incentives and reduced regulation. It is hoped that these commercial districts will further encourage miners to move to Miami and encourage job creation and investment.
Due to the delicate situation currently facing Chinese miners, Suarez targeted them. Since the State Council of China issued a statement announcing that the government will crackdown on Bitcoin mining, the industry has faced some challenges.
For example, Bitcoin miners in Xinjiang, one of China’s major economic and technological development parks received a notice last week to close its business.
Zhundong Park is home to some of the most important Bitcoin mining facilities in China, all using fossil fuel energy.
If this kind of Bitcoin mining business relocates to Miami, not only will the carbon footprint of Bitcoin be reduced due to the US nuclear energy source, but it will bring about a step towards a more decentralized Bitcoin mining.
Although Miami’s ability to have many Bitcoins mining farms has yet to be proven.
The mayor is optimistic and has been taking important steps to make this move a reality.
