New York's future mayor wants crypto taught in schools

New York City mayor-elect Eric Adams appears to be doubling down on his pro-crypto position, arguing that schools should include cryptocurrency learning in their curricula. In a CNN interview about the state of the CNN union, Adams described crypto business as "a new way to pay for goods and services worldwide" and urged local schools to prepare students for the "new mindset" that blockchain technology brings and digital assets.

“We need to open our schools to teach technology to teach this new way of thinking. Adams also anecdotally notes a very low awareness of crypto among his young constituents. "When I talk about blockchain and bitcoins value, young people stop in the street and ask, 'What is that?'" says the 61-year-old Democrat. He also outlined plans to encourage New York companies to accept Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies as payment, and said he would "be careful" and "get better". The mayor-Elect added that New York "must remain a center of innovation, no matter what innovation is".

Adams' comments received mixed reactions from the crypto community on social media. Consumer Nimadows said cryptocurrencies should be included in the school curriculum, saying that new investors should be “equipped with an open mind and sufficient knowledge” before entering the digital asset market. Others criticized the proposal, with InnocenceCapit1 calling the cryptocurrency "speculative trash". Schools need to focus on "successfully teaching real-world math, history, science, languages, and finance," they added.

Citing recent criticism from Harvard economist Jason Furman of Adams, Twitter user OnlyAPrimate described the newly elected digital asset mayor's youngest cheerleader as "somewhat evil" because Adams intended to receive his first three mayors' salaries in BTC. “I really like Eric Adams, but I don't think his job description is reminiscent of the cryptocurrency [he's] paid for. Looks a bit naughty," they wrote.