Last month, the City of Miami Commission voted to claim MiamiCoin (MIA), a digital token that will provide the city with a seven-figure revenue stream. Grassroots organization CityCoins launched the MiamiCoin in August. 30% of the cryptocurrency’s yield – over $10 million at the time of writing – will go to the city, with the remaining 70% of value given to the miner.
Already, one technologist is leveraging the power of MiamiCoin for positive societal benefits.
Los Angeles-based Drew Falkman and a globally-distributed team of cryptocurrency enthusiasts known as the Syvita Guild built Miami Voice, a decentralized civic engagement platform. The team developed Miami Voice as part of CityCoins’ first community hackathon, MiamiCoin Makers Month. They came in first place at the event, taking home the $20,000 prize. The event was judged by Ryan Hoover, founder of Product Hunt; prominent cryptocurrency commentator Bored Elon Musk; and CityCoins founder Patrick Stanley.
“The idea is that anyone with MiamiCoin in their wallet can authenticate into the [Miami Voice] app, and then you can create and vote on proposals,” Falkman told Refresh Miami. The aim of these proposals is to help inform Miami’s municipal government on how they should spend the revenue from the MiamiCoin.
In a statement, CityCoins commented: “Drew’s app creates yet another incentive for people to hold MIA and aligns perfectly with CityCoins’ goal of establishing positive feedback loops between city officials and residents.”
This first iteration of Miami Voice is primarily a proof of concept. “I feel like there are endless possibilities,” said Falkman. For instance, he noted that the city could issue non-fungible tokens in the form of Miami collectables that could be bought, sold, and exchanged.
Miami Voice is still in beta, but Falkman hopes to connect with the local government to see how far the app can go: “Our plan is to talk to Miami and see if we can do a pilot to allocate some of the funds.” He also mentioned the idea of running a contest where the top proposal will get considered by the city. (With some moderation and oversight, Falkman underscored.)
On top of the chance to do good for the community through Miami Voice, Falkman acknowledged the MiamiCoin’s skyrocketing price has also made it a boon for investors: “the return has been insanely good for holders.”
Why the rapid rise? “Miami is very much a growing city and becoming a very vibrant tech hub, specifically in the blockchain but in other elements of tech as well,” said Falkman. Buying MiamiCoin is a way for investors to speculate on a city’s popularity, he explained.
While Falkman was originally attracted to Miami because of its CityCoins offering, he notes that the same principles can be applied to other cities. “CityCoins is a global initiative,” he explained. “The idea is to find cities where the civic government is interested in having a coin.”
This news comes after a spate of cryptocurrency and NFT headlines coming out of Miami-based firms, from new NFT initiatives to high-profile relocations. The city has garnered national and international press for its protagonism in the global trend towards decentralized and alternative financial products.
Follow along with the Miami Voice team by checking out Falkman’s LinkedIn page and MiamiVoice.org.
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