Austin, the second fastest-growing city in Texas will begin exploring policy capabilities to accept Bitcoin as a payment option and integrate other Web3 applications to improve the lives of its residents.
Steve Adler, Mayor in Austin, Texas, has fully embraced the discovery of what Blockchain technology and crypto payments can bring to his city by proposing two new initiatives.
Adler’s First Initiative
The first initiative aims to ensure that the fourth largest city in Texas promotes the benefits of Blockchain technologies as well as “equity, diversity, accessibility, and inclusion” in the technological ecosystem. To that end, Mayor Adler directed the city manager to explore how the city can use Web3 and Blockchain in 20 fields, from smart contracts, supply chain management, and issuance of arts, media, fundraising, and identity verification.
As stated by Adler, “The city manager must ensure that the city helps create an environment within the city government and in the community at large that supports the creation and development of new technologies, including, but not limited to, Blockchain and other technologies, protocols, and applications related to Web3.”
Adler’s Second Initiative
Mayor Adler’s second initiative directs the city manager to conduct a “fact-finding study” into how the city could adopt Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrency-related policies. Through these efforts, Mayor Adler appears to want to find ways for Austin residents to legally pay their bills using cryptocurrency. Quoted on Twitter, Adler stated that, “Austin is excited to support the businesses and innovations that will turn the promises of Web3, cryptocurrency, and Blockchain technology into reality.”
Under this initiative, the city manager must find ways to allow “the acceptance of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies as payment for municipal taxes, fees, and fines” as the first set of policies to analyze.
What Next
The success of the two initiatives will depend on the level of impact the new apps have on the daily lives of Austinites. The city council will be voting on the proposals on March 24.
The Austin City Council has been considering Blockchain technology integrations since at least 2020 when it proposed using smart contracts for the MyPass identity verification protocol.
Other US Cities Join the Trend
Austin is joining Miami, New York City, and the state of Colorado in rapidly expanding exploration efforts and proposed implementation of cryptocurrency-related policies. Miami and New York have already launched their own citywide coin projects through City Coin on the Stacks layer 1 Blockchain, while Austin’s own program is still in development.
Philadelphia has expressed interest in joining the City Coins program, while Colorado Governor Jared Polis said in an interview on Feb. 15 that the state would accept crypto for “state tax-related purposes.” It later hopes to accept crypto for a broader range of state government services.
By Audy Castaneda
