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Author: Aaron Wood, Source: Cointelegraph, Compiler: Shaw Bitcoin Vision
After a long campaign, US Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani has won the New York City mayoral election.Over the past year, New York City’s cryptocurrency industry has been closely watching how Mamdani’s election as mayor would impact the blockchain space.
The Associated Press declared Mamdani the winner of the race on Wednesday.He defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent candidate, and Republican candidate Curtis Silwa.Mamdani’s campaign focused on cost-of-living issues in New York City, such as rent and child care, and proposed taxing the city’s top 1 percent of earners to fund those programs.
Some in the cryptocurrency industry, such as Tyler Winklevoss, co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, are disappointed with Mamdani’s high approval rating in polls.Critics claim his policies will have disastrous consequences for the city’s businesses.
Although Mamdani rarely comments publicly on cryptocurrencies, the industry is now paying close attention to how the mayor-elect’s policies will impact digital assets.
Mamdani’s stance on cryptocurrencies remains unclear
While other mayoral candidates, notably Andrew Cuomo and former Mayor Eric Adams, have publicly expressed support for the cryptocurrency industry, Mamdani has not.
The few times he mentioned cryptocurrencies, his comments were almost always unrelated to policy and he did not indicate whether he would support the cryptocurrency industry in New York City.
In 2023, following the collapse of the Terra stablecoin system and the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, New York State Attorney General Letitia James proposed a consumer protection bill.
In James’ words, the bill would introduce “common-sense measures to protect investors and end the fraud and chaos that have become the hallmark of cryptocurrencies.”
Mamdani, who was a member of the New York City Council at the time and supported the bill, said: “When cryptocurrency companies fail, it is not the wealthy who suffer, but small investors, and these small investors are mostly from low-income communities and communities of color.”
Mamdani also mentioned cryptocurrency as it relates to his opponent Andrew Cuomo.In April, Mamdani noted that Cuomo had advised him on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) investigation of cryptocurrency exchange OKX.
The investigation ultimately led to OKX admitting to violating U.S. anti-money laundering laws and paying a fine of more than $500 million.
While both paragraphs mentioned cryptocurrency, they focused more on other aspects of Mamdani’s campaign, including consumer protection and affordability issues, and contrasted him with one of his political opponents.
However, that didn’t stop him from incurring the wrath of prominent figures in New York’s cryptocurrency industry or the broader blockchain space.
In response to Mamdani’s remarks about taxing billionaires, White House Director of Artificial Intelligence and Cryptocurrency Affairs David Sacks wrote: “Silicon Valley, wake up. This is the future of the Democratic Party. You basically only have two choices now: either support ‘Make America Great Again’ or prepare to be Mamdani’s meal.”
Tyler Winklevoss claims Mamdani’s supporters are spoiled, highly educated college students.”They have never understood the value of Western civilization, so they don’t understand why it should be defended and they don’t know how to defend it.”
Shaun Maguire, a partner at Sequoia Capital who once led the company’s investment in the stablecoin platform Bridge, criticized that “the West will pay a heavy price for this.”
Concerns about Mamdani’s election as mayor prompted financial giants to donate large sums of money to Andrew Cuomo’s campaign.Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman reportedly donated $1 million and $250,000 to two anti-Mamdani political action committees, Defend NYC and Fix the City.
Mamdani responded: “He spends more money on me than I tax him.”
Innovate NY PAC, a lobbying committee representing the cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence industries, announced its support for Andrew Cuomo.The announcement was made on October 28, just a week after Andrew Cuomo announced a digital asset development strategy in an attempt to woo the cryptocurrency industry.According to reports, Innovate New York has previously donated $30,000 to Andrew Cuomo’s campaign.
What can the mayor do?
Despite strong opposition from financiers and crypto industry titans, the New York City mayor has limited real influence on cryptocurrencies.
Securities and financial laws originate in Albany and Washington, and any changes the New York City mayor wishes to implement in this area must first be approved by the state and federal governments.
The mayor of New York has influence over matters such as municipal taxation, permit issuance and building permits, all of which could have an impact on the cryptocurrency industry if the mayor decides to take action.But even so, the mayor’s influence is limited.
As cryptocurrency attorney Aaron Brogan points out, “The reality is that cryptocurrency companies typically operate on a smaller scale. They don’t require huge real estate or specialized equipment, just a room full of human capital and an idea. This makes them relatively immune to local pressures in terms of development. Of course, energy-intensive applications like Bitcoin mining are another story, but no one is doing that in New York anyway.”
Aaron Brogan noted that the mayor’s ability to exert control from the retail level is also limited due to New York State’s strict BitLicense licensing requirements.“Many companies either avoid the state entirely or operate under the New York State BitLicense licensing regime, which likely shields them from direct pressure from city governments.”
Mamdani won’t be sworn in until January 1, 2026, and even then he will have to fight hard to influence the policies he campaigned on.How and whether these policies will affect the cryptocurrency industry is currently unknown.
