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In summary
- Mayor Eric Adams defended his decision to receive his salary in Bitcoin, highlighting the rise in value of BTC and Ethereum since then.
- Despite his success with cryptocurrencies, Adams faces legal problems, including accusations of receiving benefits from Turkish officials.
- Adams also reached out to Donald Trump, indicating that he will work with the incoming administration rather than confront it.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, known for his humility and low profile, delivered his final message to his detractors this week, about Bitcoin.
“Remember when they laughed at me when I first got my Bitcoin?” Adams asked a group of reporters during a news conference Tuesday. “Who is laughing now?”
Adams then laughed out loud, before adding: “Go check out (the price of) my Bitcoin now.”
In early 2022, Adams received his first three paychecks as mayor of New York City in Bitcoin and Ethereum—a Cryptocurrency sum that would have been approximately $32,000 at the time, according to publicly available data.
Since then, Bitcoin has more than doubled in price, to over $103,000 right now. Ethereum is up around 40% in the same period, above $3,800.
“You all made fun of me,” Adams said Tuesday, before adopting a falsetto voice to imitate the supposed naysayers: “‘You’re getting your first three checks in Bitcoin, what’s wrong with you?'”
“Now they wish they had,” the mayor said in his own voice, before laughing again.
As with many topics, Adams’s relationship with cryptocurrencies is not without controversy. A year after taking home a portion of his salary in BTC and ETH, the mayor got into trouble for failing to disclose his cryptocurrency holdings in a mandatory report filed with the city’s Conflict of Interest Board.
Since then, Adams’ legal problems have increased dramatically. In September, the politician became the first mayor in New York City history to be indicted on criminal charges while in office.
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has accused him of receiving luxury accommodations and other benefits from Turkish government officials and businessmen in exchange for treatment favorable to the country’s interests in New York.
In the months since his indictment, Adams has flatly rejected numerous calls for his resignation. He has also begun to reach out to fellow cryptocurrency advocate Donald Trump, who will assume the US presidency and control over the DOJ on January 20.
“I made it clear that I’m not going to be at war with this administration. I’m going to be working with this administration,” Adams (who is a Democrat) said of Trump during Tuesday’s press conference.
Edited by Andrew Hayward
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