No, Eric Adams is not getting his salary in bitcoin.
The newly inaugurated mayor of New York City raised eyebrows back in November when he promised to take his “first THREE paychecks in Bitcoin,” and a Thursday press release titled “Mayor Adams to Receive First Paycheck in Cryptocurrency” implies he’s making good on that pledge. There’s just one problem: The very same press release says it’s against the rules to pay city employees in cryptocurrency.
That’s right, despite the splashy claim, it appears that what Mayor Adams is actually doing is using his salary to buy ethereum and bitcoin on Coinbase. We say “appears” because the release is written in such a way as to leave a lot of wiggle room for whatever actually is happening with the mayor’s salary.
“Before funds are made available, Mayor Adams’ first paycheck will automatically be converted into cryptocurrency via Coinbase, a secure online platform for buying, selling, transferring, and storing digital currency,” the press release explains. “Due to U.S. Department of Labor regulations, New York City cannot pay employees in cryptocurrency.”
We reached out to the mayor’s office with a host of questions, including whether or not New York City is sending money directly to Coinbase and who, exactly, is buying the cryptocurrency on Coinbase’s platform (is it Adams himself, for example?), but received no immediate response.
It’s almost like, as the press release says, New York City can’t actually pay employees in cryptocurrency.
