New York Mayor Eric Adams announced the city’s first official crypto summit on Monday, while reaffirming his goal to make New York “the crypto capital of the globe.”
New York will host a major crypto summit on May 20, just two months after former U.S. President Donald Trump held a similar event at the White House.
At a press conference on Monday, Mayor Eric Adams promoted the city’s growing blockchain sector, joined by Figure Firm co-founder June Ou and Traction and Scale CEO Richard Hecker.
Adams said New York is emerging as a serious contender to California’s Silicon Valley in crypto innovation. He also touted blockchain technology's potential to expand financial inclusion, particularly for communities historically excluded from traditional financial systems.
“Finance is something that can impact those communities that have historically found themselves lacking in access to banks and access to ways to save their resources and dollars,” he said. “My goal remains the same as it was on day one as mayor: making New York City the crypto capital of the globe.”
Adams reiterated his history with crypto, dating back to January 2022, when he converted his first three paychecks into Bitcoin and Ethereum.
“Many people laughed at me—and all I can say is, who's laughing now?” he said, echoing his words from December. “We're seeing how this industry is growing, and since then, the number of crypto and blockchain startups that have made New York City home has skyrocketed.”
Though he didn’t directly mention them, Adams’ announcement could signal to the influential crypto super PACs—a key force in Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential victory—that they should support him as a crypto candidate as he gears up for reelection.
Adams has said he would skip the Democratic primary and instead run as an independent candidate, citing that the federal corruption investigation against him had made it impossible to campaign effectively within his party.
The corruption investigation centered on allegations he accepted illegal campaign contributions and perks, including luxury travel, from people seeking to influence him, particularly Turkish officials.
The case was dismissed in April at the request of the Department of Justice under the Trump administration, and led to resignations within the DOJ and raised concerns about political interference. Adams has consistently denied wrongdoing.
Adams and Trump have been close since January, when Adams, facing those corruption charges, traveled to Florida to meet with Trump at Mar-a-Lago. Before taking office, Trump had hinted at a possible pardon for Adams.
Adams said the New York Crypto Summit aims to facilitate collaboration between public officials and private sector innovators, fostering what he called a “cross-pollination of ideas and methods” to guide the industry in the right direction.
“The summit will bring together crypto innovators and influencers to share insights and experiences to chart our path forward—gathering great minds, hearing from keynote speakers, and fostering a cross-pollination of ideas and methods to move the industry in the right direction, both in terms of economic development and opportunities to serve the public using digital assets.”
Adams stressed that the city is in crypto for the long haul and not interested in passing trends like memecoins.
“We are focused on the long-term values of these technologies for our city and its people, not chasing memes or trends, which is why we are bringing together leaders,” Adams said.
Adams said that while the crypto industry views widespread adoption as inevitable, he emphasized the need for balanced regulation that is strong enough to protect investors but not so restrictive that it hinders innovation and growth.
“Our state should embrace the crypto and blockchain-friendly environment we have in New York City,” he said. “The right regulations can provide safety, but overregulation could hurt the industry—and we don’t want that.”
“This is the Empire State; we should be focused on building empires, especially in the crypto space,” Adams concluded.
Edited by Josh Quittner and Sebastian Sinclair
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