N.Y.C. Mayor Hopes to 'Excite the Imagination' by Receiving His Paychecks in Crypto — but Critics Worry

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It's payday for New York City's newly elected Mayor Eric Adams — but those dollars won't burn a hole in his pocket this weekend. Adams, 61, is keeping a promise he made in November to collect his first three paychecks in cryptocurrency.

Though federal law require employers to pay base wages and salaries in government-issued currencies, the mayor is using a workaround to convert his funds to Bitcoin as well as the second-largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum.

"New York is the center of the world, and we want it to be the center of cryptocurrency and other financial innovations," Adams said in a statement of his decision to use the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase to convert the funds. "Being on the forefront of such innovation will help us create jobs, improve our economy, and continue to be a magnet for talent from all over the globe."

Adams' earns $258,750 a year or $9,924.66 in each of his bi-weekly paychecks, spokesperson Jonah Allon told NY1.

So how much Bitcoin and ether — that's what Ethereum's coins are called — can Adams get with his paycheck?

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Both currencies are currently down in value since late September at Coinbase. Ethereum is going for about $2,845 while Bitcoin is at about $38,870.

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Adams did not say how much of each cryptocurrency he has purchased with his mayor's salary.

"I was excited about my first paycheck going into a Bitcoin-type of payment," Adams told a NY1 reporter on Thursday. "We want this type of technology to be developed in New York City and we really want to lean into innovation in the city of New York. And now young people are asking me, 'What's Bitcoin? What does it mean to get paid in it? Can they get paid in it?' We're going to excite of the imagination and the creativity and the innovation in our city."

Adams' embrace of cryptocurrency has its cheerleaders — especially in the industry — as well as its skeptics.

"Seeing the mayor of New York willing to take his own money and convert it sends a powerful message," said state Sen. Diane J. Savino, who chairs a committee on internet and technology. "For God's sake, we run the New York Stock Exchange. We can do this."

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But, speaking to The New York Times, Savino added that cryptocurrencies need to be regulated in the state.

She's not alone in her concerns. Environmentalists worry that the cheap energy needed to fuel the currency's digital "mining" operations — which require space and a lot of inexpensive power to keep constantly-running computers cool — could have a detrimental impact from New York to Texas in the form of greenhouse gas emissions and pollution.

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"Bitcoin is an environmental disaster," Judith Enck, a former Environmental Protection Agency administrator, told the Times. "Entire countries have stopped the practice, and I think Mayor Adams sends a very negative environmental message when embracing Bitcoin."

Though Adams said his paycheck-cashing stunt is about welcoming new technologies and innovation, he may not get too far in N.Y.C. with his coins. As The Guardian points out, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the city's 117-year-old subway system, doesn't accept cryptocurrency.

Perhaps that's why Adams rides his bike to work.