For Florida, Miami-Dade Crypto Task Force Should Check Yes to Digital Currency Acceptance
Miami-Dade, home of the Miami Coin, isn’t just any metropolitan area. The county is already seen as being one-with-crypto. There’s only upside to embracing that image and doubling down on digital asset acceptance. Currently, the Miami-Dade Cryptocurrency Task Force is empowered to investigate the feasibility of accepting cryptocurrencies and other digital assets as a method of payment for county taxes and fees. The committee, also empowered to investigate other ways the county can utilize blockchain technology, is set to report within six months.
While we may only be weeks into the exploration phase, the answer should be, decidedly, yes, yes, and yes. Yes, the county should begin to accept digital assets. Yes, there are other applications for blockchain technology. Yes, the county would see significant benefit by embracing it. The reasons for such an embrace are varied, but let’s start with one that’s pretty basic. The world is moving towards digital currencies, and not just in the cryptocurrency sense of that phrase. Central banks across the globe are in a race to launch their very own CBDC, and China has been beta-testing its new payment technology for months. The question of when a CBDC comes to the United States is not if, it is when.
The infrastructure required for CBDCs and cryptocurrencies is technologically similar. It only makes sense to begin to accept cryptocurrencies now so that, when digital currencies are more widespread, the county already has experience in the arena. The time for debate on digital assets has come and gone. China will not be allowed to run roughshod over the digital payments sector, especially as CBDCs will be a primary means to facilitate international transfers in the future. Ergo, whether they like it or not, the EU and the United States will be forced to develop, test, and implement their own CBDC. Digital currencies are coming, and Florida should get ahead of them. This would be a great first step.
However, there is a reason beyond simple inevitability that Miami-Dade should get on board. Florida should angle to make a long-term play at becoming a hub of fintech innovation. Blockchain-based technologies have nearly endless potential to disrupt every industry, from logistics to agriculture. They could be used to authenticate pharmaceuticals and cut into the pandemic of counterfeit drugs. It could be utilized to prevent greenwashing or, even, to keep blood rubies out of circulation. The number of start-ups, as well as multinational corporations, which will explode into this segment over the next decade is difficult for the casual onlooker to even fathom. And that’s why Florida should make a statement and say yes to digital assets.
Given that the county has already involved itself with the Miami Coin, it only makes sense for the state to continue to brand itself as a forward-thinking destination for firms in the financial technologies sector. Accepting cryptocurrencies as a means of payment for taxes would, functionally, be a minor adjustment for counties across the state. There is an array of firms which would line up to assist with the implementation. Practically speaking, it isn’t likely that the masses would be lining up to pay with their Bitcoin.
Making the move would do three things. First, it would signal that Florida is open for, and to, twenty-first century business. Secondly, it would allow counties to get the kinks out of their processes as a precursor to a future where CBDCs are king. And, finally, it would allow Florida to brand itself as a forward-thinking state. In the coming years, when other state and local governments need assistance with digital asset implementation, Miami-Dade could be the proverbial city on the hill, which consequently may offer increased access to government grants. When Florida looks at its future, it should consider what that future might look like as a financial tech hub. Now is the time.
