New York is the center of the world, and we want it to be the center of cryptocurrency and other financial innovations, said Mayor Eric Adams. Despite its high cost of living and congested traffic, New York City is a crypto capital due to its access to clients and investors, its commitment to crypto regulation, and its abundance of crypto companies.
At 12th place globally, New York City came in fifth among the U.S. hubs in CoinDesk’s Crypto Hubs 2023. All of the U.S. hubs scored well in the enabler category for digital infrastructure and ease of doing business, but New York’s low quality-of-life score dragged it down.
New York City Hall signaled its commitment to crypto, encouraging municipal employees to convert their paychecks to tokens using U.S.-based crypto exchange Coinbase in early 2022. Adams even boasted about converting his own cash for coins when he took office in January last year.
Between 2021 and 2022, Goldman Sachs poured nearly $700 million into crypto analysis firms, while BNY funneled hundreds of millions of dollars into Fireblocks, a crypto infrastructure company. There are 96 crypto companies based in New York as of publication time, more than twice the number of those in London, Miami, and Austin combined.
The Tie CEO Joshua Frank calls Manhattan’s Nomad district ‘shill-a-coin alley’ due to the abundance of crypto companies in the area. The Tie throws regular in-office networking events, bringing in more than 100 attendees at a time.
Despite the concrete jungle’s comparatively high operating costs, New York remains a crypto magnet. I don’t think anybody wants to be here, Frank said. But, I think you have to be here.