Young crypto millionaires, and those wanting to learn more about their hot assets, converge weekly in the Big Apple to drink, exchange business cards, and bask in their collective good fortune by arriving early for the second internet gold rush.
The most recent gathering, held Monday in the Upper Room of Sean's, a Midtown pub, featured dozens of technicians in their 20s and 30s dressed as if they were going on a day hike in Portland, mingling with each other and a handful of women like they drank pints of Guinness and nibbled on hamburgers and fries.
The event is called "CryptoMondays," the Big Apple's largest tech-style "gathering" dedicated to digital currency, but on November 15 the talk wasn't about Dogecoin or DeFi, but about Mayor-elect Eric Adams.
New York is far from the most crypto-friendly state in the union, thanks to restrictions from the Department of Financial Services. "BitLicense, ”That anyone involved in the virtual currency business should get, the attendees complained. The license limits new coin offerings, as well as some types of crypto-backed loans that fall under the "decentralized finance" or "DeFi" framework.
But they hope the new mayor, who has vowed to make the city the center of the booming new industry, can push the local scene forward, while using his big-city bully pulpit to sway Albany and loosen encryption rules.
"I think Eric Adams is realizing that New York is very slow in terms of crypto adoption," 27-year-old Nelson Merchan, who runs a crypto industry marketing company, told The Post. "I think it's a very smart move ... I think it's a move to compete with Miami."
Miami Mayor Francis Suárez has floated a city cryptocurrency that would pay a return to Miami residents, eliminating the need for residents to pay taxes.
Adams, who is not far behind, has argued that cryptocurrency should be taught in schools, considered copying the Miami municipal cryptocurrency, and said it will take its first three paychecks "in Bitcoin. "
An Adams representative clarified that since the city can only process payroll in US dollars, the mayor planned to collect his pay, after taxes, and buy Bitcoin. Its most recent financial disclosure does not list any cryptocurrency holdings.
Sean Koh, a recording artist and co-founder of Koherent, a subsidiary of his family office, said he plans to spend the winter in Miami's "crypto hub," but is open to a more encryption-friendly New York.
"It's all always about the execution," he said. "It really comes down to the details as to how blockchain will help the city." It refers to the building block of cryptocurrency: the decentralized "chain" of verified transactions that enables a free digital currency from the central bank.
59-year-old architect Alexandros Washburn, chief urban designer under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, says he owns Bitcoin and Ethereum, the two largest cryptocurrencies.
Your new company markets and sells digital "buildings" as "NFT" or non-fungible tokens. You can start building the metaverse based on [the blockchain]. And we are here to help do that, ”he said.
Alex Atallah, 29, co-founder and chief technology officer of the $ 1.5 billion NFT market OpenSeaHe said he "hoped to improve" New York State's strict crypto regulations, which "make things very difficult for companies building in New York."
A representative from the state DFS told The Post: “The BitLicense requirements serve purposes that include consumer protection, entity security and soundness, market integrity, and prevention of money laundering and other crimes. […] The State welcomes and encourages virtual currency companies to start and enter the New York market. "
Despite being twice the age of many attendees, the head of the New York branch is 60-year-old Lou Kerner, a partner at crypto fund Blockchain Coinvestors. Your company has just launched a cryptocurrency-focused SPAC - that is, a publicly traded shell company with a large amount of cash looking to merge with a cryptocurrency business.
Kerner paced the room introducing strangers, rather than keeping up with the group, most of whom, unlike him, came of age by light of a computer monitor.
The former Wall Street analyst and dot-com boom executive was enraged by what he says is his favorite insult, "boom," before launching into the story of his crypto conversion experience.
"I saw the cryptocurrency light on June 29, 2019. And I've been crypto 24/7 ever since," he said.
