Tampa mayor to accept pay in Bitcoin — Report

Published at: Nov. 5, 2021

Jane Castor, the mayor of Tampa Bay, Florida, has announced that she will begin accepting her paycheck in Bitcoin (BTC), according to multiple sources who attended Florida’s Bitcoin & Blockchain Summit.

Castor made the announcement Friday morning on day two of the Summit, which is being held at Amalie Arena in downtown Tampa. According to people who attended the event, crypto lending platform Celsius Network will facilitate the mayor’s BTC payments.

BREAKING NEWS: #Tampa Mayor @JaneCastor just announced she's accepting @FrancisSuarez challenge of taking her pay in #Bitcoin with the help of @NukeGold @CelsiusNetwork at the #FL Bitcoin & Blockchain Summit.@APompliano @CoinDesk @Cointelegraph @LedgerInsights

— Gabe ₿ Higgins (@GabeBHiggins) November 5, 2021

The news quickly spread across Crypto Twitter, with Bitcoin evangelist Anthony Pompliano noting that a total of four U.S. mayors have begun accepting at least a portion of their paychecks in BTC.

Another mayor has decided to take their salary in bitcoin.The running count is now 4 mayors across the United States this week.Tag your mayor and ask them if they are bitcoin-friendly :) https://t.co/pXzyd661NM

— Pomp (@APompliano) November 5, 2021

Castor’s decision appears to have been influenced by Miami’s Francis Suarez, who recently became the first mayor to accept a portion of his salary in Bitcoin. Newly-elected New York City Mayor Eric Adams quickly followed suit by announcing that he will accept his first three paychecks entirely in the cryptocurrency.

Suarez and the newly-elected Adams have been vocal about turning their respective cities into crypto hubs. Following his election, Adams declared that New York City will become the “center of the cryptocurrency industry.”

In New York we always go big, so I’m going to take my first THREE paychecks in Bitcoin when I become mayor. NYC is going to be the center of the cryptocurrency industry and other fast-growing, innovative industries! Just wait!

— Eric Adams (@ericadamsfornyc) November 4, 2021

Despite experiencing several bouts of extreme price volatility this year, Bitcoin returned to record highs in late October and continues to trade above $60,000. Its price appreciation has been accompanied by growing mainstream acceptance from regulators and financial institutions, as well as merchants and payment processors.