The crypto winter hasn’t affected Miami Mayor Francis Suarez’s love for Web3. Miami is experimenting with NFTs.
Francis X. Suarez, the mayor of Miami, announced plans to release 5,000 Ethereum NFTs in the second half of this year. To make it happen, Miami has partnered with Time magazine publisher Time USA and Mastercard.
According to a City Press Release, 56 Miami artists are creating the NFTs, which are unique tokens of ownership that signify ownership.
Time USA will assist in the development of the NFT strategy for Miami and will also execute it. Mastercard holders will receive exclusive benefits such as access to special events at restaurants and private cultural tours within the city.
Salesforce’s new NFT Cloud platform will handle the NFTs’ minting process and primary sales process. This Salesforce product, which allows brands to mint NFTs and sell them, is yet to be released.
TIME President Keith Grossman is also on Salesforce’s Web3 Advisory Board. He told Decrypt that TIME’s Miami NFT Project is their first venture into helping other entities implement NFT projects. He also hinted that there may be more in the future.
He stated that the Miami NFTs were all about giving holders the opportunity to experience unique experiences.
Grossman said that the artwork would reflect the diversity of Miami.
As El Salvadoran President Nayib Buukele, whose passion for Bitcoin is unwavering — Mayor Suarez seems unaffected by the current crypto bear markets that has caused some crypto companies to fire staff and file for bankruptcy.
Suarez stated that crypto and NFTs will be used to “support our existing businesses” while also attracting new customers in a statement.
Suarez’s office did not respond to Decrypt’s request.
Miami’s Ethereum NFTs, which were scheduled for December launch following Ethereum’s move towards proof of stake, aren’t the city’s first foray in crypto and . In August last year, Suarez created MiamiCoin (MIA), an altcoin the city would keep in a wallet that others could purchase.
According to CoinMarketCap data, it generated $8,000,000 in city revenue in two months. However, it is down shockingly 98.9% from its previous high.
Miami has staked or locked up most of its MIA since then to earn a return in Bitcoin. Additionally, the two parties have shared plans to return an unspecified portion of that yield to Miami residents.
It seems like Miami won’t stop investing in crypto, from altcoins and NFTs.
