Deaglan McEachern, the mayor of Portsmouth in a bid to embrace digitalization and virtual currencies said the city will now accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for the payment of bills.
The city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, will allow people to pay their bills in Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies in an effort to embrace virtual money. The mayor of the city, Deaglan McEachern, offered the concept to local officials, who believe it will provide citizens with more payment options.
According to a March 23 local news report from Seacoastonline, “there are waves of new things that will touch us in terms of our future that leverage the type of technology used in cryptocurrency,” Mayor McEachern remarked. He continued, saying:
“I want to make sure Portsmouth is not waiting around to see how this is going to affect us in the future because it’s already affecting us.”
City Hall has learnt a lot more about cryptocurrencies and blockchains, as well as how to use them to improve city services, according to McEachern. He also stated that any cryptocurrency payments will be converted to US dollars immediately, ensuring that the transition would have no effect on the city’s monetary operations.
Governments embracing cryptocurrencies
As indicated by this project, governments are becoming increasingly interested in cryptocurrency. For example, cryptocurrency adoption has been welcomed in Miami and New York. Colorado governor Jared Polis stated in mid-February that the state government will allow residents to pay taxes in crypto as early as summer 2022.
Rather than waiting for a congressional framework, US politicians have urged that any possible regulatory uncertainties surrounding digital assets be handled at the state level. A member of the Tennessee House of Representatives proposed in February that the state be allowed to invest in bitcoin and nonfungible tokens.