City of Austin Eyes Crypto Inclusion: AustinCoin Anytime Soon?

Key Insights:

• Austin city to conduct a study on the feasibility of Bitcoin adoption.
• The investigation will look into crypto as payment for taxes and city bills.
• The full report will be available by mid-June.

Crypto cities and CityCoins are on the rise in the U.S., and the capital city of Texas – Austin – isn’t left behind in embracing Bitcoin and other cryptos.

On Thursday, members of the Austin City Council voted in favor of considering adopting cryptos as a form of payment for taxes, fees, and city bills. 

Mayor Steve Adler and Council Member Mackenzie Kelly drafted a resolution (55), asking the City Manager to conduct a “fact-finding study.” The report will investigate potential crypto policies that the city can consider adopting and will be due by June 16.

The study will look into the possibility of adding crypto payments into taxes and bills, issues, and risks concerning cryptos and their applications. This includes financial stability, security issues, equity and inclusion issues, and environmental impact.

“AustinCoin” Launch? But Councilors Are Skeptical

Before delving into the possibility of ‘AustinCoin’, it is essential to look into how members of the Austin community are skeptical about embracing cryptos into state laws.

There were pouring criticisms soon after Mayor Adler introduced Web3 applications to improve residents’ lives during Web3 and Blockchain Ecosystem press conference early this month.

Austin is excited to support the businesses and innovations that will turn the promises of Web3, cryptocurrency, and blockchain technology into reality. Thanks to @MK6ATX for her resolution and @RaffiSapire, @consensus2022, @JoshuaBaer, and @PrestonLJ2 for their leadership! #SXSW pic.twitter.com/HdmuGA0l2Y

— Mayor Adler | Get vaccinated! (@MayorAdler) March 11, 2022

In a recent post, an Austin-based software engineer and tech blogger, Courtney Rosenthal, wrote that blockchain technologies are an “environmental disaster.”

“It is not technophobic to be concerned about these proposals. Many technology experts are skeptical of blockchain and cryptocurrencies. The exuberant support tends to come from people who have a vested interest in crypto.”

The blogger stressed the three biggest concerns, including environmental impact, the highly volatile nature of cryptocurrencies, and the lack of regulation.

Her comments were shared by many Austin council members who had expressed their skepticism during the council meeting on Thursday.

Mayor Pro Tem Alison Alter said that he isn’t comfortable with the notion of accepting crypto payments anytime soon. As reported by Austin Chronicle, he said,

“I’m not really sure that I need a fact-finding study to tell me there’s a lot of financial risks or that there are environmental implications of using this.”

Another council member Leslie Pool also voiced out her concerns about Austin considering adopting a “new technology” that even recent adopters like the city of Miami are reconsidering.

Pointing out to the sudden plunge of MiamiCoin (MIA) price after adoption, Pool said,

“At this point, given its relatively recent entry into [the tech sector], I am cautious about the city adopting or using it.”

The city’s pro-crypto Mayor Adler is keen on exploring the uses of and promoting blockchain technology. During the Thursday session, the Mayor said,

“I pushed back at some of the people in the community that are trying at this point to turn it into a debate about… adopting these technologies for particular uses. Before we should ever consider doing anything like that, we need more research, and that’s all these resolutions do.”

Member Kelly also said to the Council that “this is just a study” that will provide more information to prove what cryptos are capable of, an Austin-based radio station noted.

Growing “Crypto-Friendly” Cities

Various cities in the U.S. are becoming Bitcoin hotspots. For instance, the city of San Francisco is home to cryptocurrency trading platforms Coinbase and Kraken, and over 100 restaurants and bars to hostels and stores accept crypto as payments.

According to Coin ATM Radar, there are over 480 BitcoinATMs in the tech hub of the Bay Area.

The city of Miami and New York have gone far ahead by launching their native CityCoins dubbed MiamiCoin and NewYorkCoin (NYC). NYC Mayor Eric Adams even took his first three paychecks in Bitcoin.

CityCoins provides citizens a medium to generate crypto-based revenue. Powered by Stacks (STX), CityCoins enables smart contracts on the Bitcoin network.