‘Philly is ready’ for CityCoins says city council

Philadelphia is on the cusp of following in the footsteps of Miami, Austin and New York City by partnering with CityCoins to develop a crypto for the city of Brotherly Love.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney has endorsed the concept and told government news media site Statescoop that his office is “enthusiastic about the potential of donations from a CityCoins program to target pressing problems in the city.”

Philly’s Chief Information Officer and apparent Bitcoin (BTC) supporter Mark Wheeler said that “Philly is ready” to begin working with CityCoins in a Jan. 31 tweet.

@mineCityCoins – Philly is ready. to proceed.

— Mark Wheeler markaroo.btc (@Wheelmrk) January 30, 2022

CityCoins is a software application on the Stacks (STX) blockchain that helps city governments create a unique cryptocurrency. Transactions on Stacks settle on the Bitcoin network.

New York City and Miami are already using CityCoins to increase their treasury holdings. Thirty percent of mined STX tokens are sent to the city’s wallet then sold for USD which goes directly into the city treasury. Miners retain the rest.

In a Feb. 1 interview, Wheeler indicated that the city would begin formally vetting CityCoins to ensure that any potential partnership they enter into together complies with existing laws concerning cryptocurrency.

Wheeler addressed the environmental concern of adopting a program that utilizes a Proof-of-Work blockchain like Bitcoin. He pointed out that CityCoins doesn’t require users to use any additional hardware which could generate further harm to the environment. He told Statescoop on Feb. 1:

“I think we can simply say, ‘This isn’t Bitcoin and it’s not requiring new servers to be set up and it’s not requiring intensive energy use.’ I think that’s a valid, verifiable statement.”

Last November, Wheeler announced that Philadelphia would work toward adding blockchain technology to the city’s government. He took the city of Miami as inspiration for the initiative.

Miami launched its MiamiCoin with CityCoins last August to help the city raise funds which Mayor Francis Suarez said could be used to cover the tax burden for all of its residents.

Related: MiamiCoin has now raised $24.7 million… but who will benefit?

New York City launched its NYCCoin in a partnership with CityCoins last November. As with MiamiCoin, NYCCoin miners receive STX and BTC rewards for supplying the city with tokens.

Austin, Texas has also entered into a partnership with CityCoins, but mining has not yet begun.