The mayor of Cool Valley, Missouri, said he was exploring giving over $1 million to 1,500 people in Bitcoin (BTC). Mayor Jayson Stewart said in his Thursday interview with St. Louis news office KSDK that “Every household in my city is awarded a bitcoin level.” Stewart said that the funds would probably come from “very supportive donors,” but did not rule out the pandemic relief of government money to start the company.
At the time of publication, the Mayor did not indicate how much Bitcoin the city could distribute to every resident but suggested that it would amount to $1,000 — roughly $1.5 million — more than BTC 30.
He also suggested that the funds may require HODL residents of Cool Valley for five years.
“My first concern is that somebody just sells his bitcoin to pay his car, so when Bitcoin sits at about $500,000, they’re going to be really sorry,” said Stewart.
He added, “I think this is fundamentally the best way [all] basic needs can be fulfilled — to get Bitcoin in the hands of those that can use it best.”
The Stewart Bitcoin initiative is similar to Andrew Yang, a US presidential candidate for 2020. Yang helped give $1,000 in universal basic income or UBI to all Americans a month. Although he did not receive the nomination for the Democratic Party, the UBI was often the focus of media attention and seemed to receive strong support.
In response to environmental concerns associated with bitcoin by some, Mayor Stewart said his town will take proactive actions against the known impact on the environment of crypto-monetary activities. “We give Bitcoin away and at the same time, like all government lights and things such as this, we turn our entire city into solar,” he said.
The Mayor also spoke of some plans for familiarising residents with cryptocurrency, including free lessons on how to use and store Bitcoin securely. By the end of the year, Stewart hopes to start things.
While, some US cities, including Miami, Florida, and Jackson, Tennessee, are trying to be bitcoin hubs. The aldermen from these two towns try to obtain Bitcoin from their local administrations for payments and possibly keep BTC on their balances.
As data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro demonstrate, Bitcoin prices rise briefly to over $49,000 at the time of publication.
