Even in the in the midst of a crypto crisisNew York City Mayor Eric Adams is not backing down on his plans to receive his first three paychecks in Bitcoin and Ethereum. Bitcoin dipped below $36,000 on Friday: a 47 percent dip from its all-time high in November, dragging the total cryptocurrency market capitalization under $2 trillion.
Adams officially received his first paycheck yesterday, which was converted to Bitcoin and Ethereum through the Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange. According to the New York Post, the mayor of New York City receives biweekly paychecks of around $5,900, which equates to a salary of $258,750 a year. Adams did not disclose how much of his $5,900 check is split between Bitcoin and Ethereum, but if the cryptocurrency market continues to trend down, the funds from Adams' first check may quickly evaporate.
Mayor Adams announced that he would took his first three Bitcoin paychecks last November (which, of course, was just before Bitcoin hit a record high of $69,000). The movement grew out of a twitter exchange between Adams and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who said he would receive his next paycheck in Bitcoin. However, Adams wanted to take things a step further and chose to receive not one, but three digital currency paychecks, as part of his offer to Make NYC "the hub of cryptocurrency."
Mayor Adams is just one of several high-profile figures getting their paychecks in cryptocurrency. NFL players, including Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady and Odell Beckham Jr. have also opted to convert some, if not all, of their salaries into cryptocurrencies. However, the current cryptocurrency slump is likely depleting their digital wallets even more than Adams's, as all three players changed their salaries when Bitcoin was at an all-time high last fall.
