At the Rio Innovation Week, Mayor Eduardo Paes spoke on how he wants to transform Rio de Janeiro into a cryptocurrency hub. This plan is set to include holding small amounts of treasury reserves in Bitcoin.
- Rio de Janeiro intends to invest 1% of its treasury reserves in Bitcoin, Mayor Eduardo Paes revealed Thursday.
- The city also plans to introduce additional discounts for property taxes paid in Bitcoin.
- Today, Rio is expected to publish a decree establishing a working group that would handle the issues concerning the Bitcoin investments.
Eduardo Paes – the mayor of Rio de Janeiro – intends to allocate 1% of the city’s Treasury in bitcoin. If he proceeds, the megapolis will become the first Brazilian city to purchase the primary cryptocurrency as a store of value.
Rio to Hop on The BTC Bandwagon
Mayor Eduardo Paes presented his plans at Rio Innovation Week as he discussed the subject in a lecture with the bitcoin-loving mayor of Miami – Francis Suarez.
“We are going to launch Crypto Rio and invest 1% of the Treasury in bitcoin,” Paes said. The 52-year-old member of Brazil’s Social Democratic Party praised Suarez’s efforts to transform Miami into a cryptocurrency hub. The latter previously said he is open to exploring the idea of putting 1% of his city’s Treasury reserves in bitcoin.
While Miami has positioned itself as the cryptocurrency center of the USA, Rio aims to become the South American hub for the digital asset industry, Paes asserted: “Rio de Janeiro has everything it takes to become the tech capital of South America. Events like the Rio Innovation Week come to strengthen the city’s image as the perfect place to work, live, and innovate.”
According to Rio’s Finance Secretary Pedro Paulo and Secretary of Economic Development, Innovation, and Simplification, Chicão Bulhões, the city’s administration has also considered offering additional discounts for tax payments paid in Bitcoin. Today, residents of Rio already enjoy a 7% discount on property taxes, but according to the new rules, that discount could be as much as 10% if paid with Bitcoin.
The possible bitcoin adoption is considered a massive step for the development of the primary cryptocurrency since Rio de Janeiro is the financial heart of Brazil. Its economy is also one of the largest in the Latin American region and among the fastest-growing globally.