Andrew Yang, a democratic candidate for Mayor in New York City who ran for President last year. Has said that he wants to make the city a ‘hub’ for Bitcoin if elected.
Yang made his intentions known on his Twitter page. Tweeting: As mayor of NYC – the world’s financial capital – I would invest in making the city a hub for BTC and other cryptocurrencies.
Since Andrew Yang joined the mayoral race in January this essentially is a campaign promise and one that should be taken seriously. As it currently stands, Yang is the Democratic Party front-runner with polls having him clearly ahead of his competition.
Yang made the statement as a reply to a tweet from Meltem Demirors, the Chief Security Officer of CoinShares. Demirors was complaining about how hard it is for crypto companies to operate in New York. Due to the high taxes in the city and the taxes on the New York State Department of Financial Services Bitlicense.
While the statement drew a wide range of responses. Majority of them called for Yang to eliminate BitLicense. To ensure the city becomes an open place for cryptocurrency companies to operate if elected. Demirors himself added that Yang would need to take care of the high state taxes and Bitlicense to turn New York City into a cryptocurrency hub.
Andrew Yang’s Signature Policy Plan
Yang’s signature policy plan is universal basic income. Which is the same platform, of creating a cryptocurrency-enabling America. That he ran on during the last presidential elections before ultimately stepping down.
Back in 2019 Andrew Yang said that the US Congress lacked the basic knowledge needed to roll out effective cryptocurrency legislation. As such, the country will be playing catchup to those with clear-cut crypto regulations. Last year while running for President Yang proposed a plan to regulate digital assets nationwide and to promote blockchain voting.
Yang is a long time proponent and supporter of Bitcoin and with New York home to Wall Street. Having Bitcoin take over would be a true sign of a changing of the guard.