Recently, the city of Miami launched its very own cryptocurrency, called “MiamiCoin” and generated over $4 million in funds in less than 30 days. With this brand new technology being introduced to the government, it is welcomed with extremely cautious optimism. Though it’s just being tentatively utilized, the many possibilities that come with decentralized technology could completely change the future of government.
This decentralized, blockchain technology is still new. It was invented in 2008, but has only begun to actually be adopted in the last few. As it continues to be developed and adopted, the horizons will expand and the possibilities will unfold. A whole new system will slowly be adopted.
In the short term, it seems as though this MiamiCoin is a bit of a test run to see how it might be used to benefit the community. Blockchain and decentralized technology have already begun to explore different niches, such as social media, so it was only a matter of time before its benefits were tapped into by local governments.
Truthfully, no one can say for sure how this technology might be adopted. However, considering crypto’s rapid growth and surprising successes despite its many skeptics, it might be wise to assume and prepare for its eventual adoption. Miami has already been praised for its adoption of MiamiCoin for the sake of benefiting its citizens. So far, it has been considered a cautious success, and according to CityCoin’s (the developer who launched MiamiCoin) website, there are over a hundred developers who have begun building applications for Miami on their open-source protocol.
With Miami poised to launch into this new age of technology, it signals to other city governments the possibilities of using open source or blockchain technology. With these entirely new systems, new and fresh training will be required for government employees. The technology, terminology, and function of these systems will likely be like nothing these employees would have ever dealt with before, and while extremely valuable, it can be extremely precise. Thorough training on these new systems as they are slowly incorporated and become more and more a part of the everyday workday will be critical to the overall success.
Introducing cryptocurrency to the government sphere was a bold, exciting move. With it comes immeasurable opportunity as well as plenty of new regulations and procedures surrounding it. Keeping an eye on the changing landscape and training your team on new procedures is a critical step in the future functionality of your government branch!