New York City has made its mayoral choice. It’s 34-year-old State Assemblyman Zoltan Mamdani, a Democrat who seemingly came out of nowhere over the summer to triumph over Andrew Cuomo.
Mamdani’s path to the top seat in America’s most populous city came with promises of affordable rents, free buses, and universal childcare. Funding for all of this is expected to come from raising taxes on the wealthy.
So, what does all this mean for crypto in NYC, a US hub for blockchain technology?
A New Mayor For The NYC Crypto Hub
Mamdani, born and raised in Kampala, Uganda, moved to New York City with his family at the age of seven, becoming a US citizen in 2018.
A number of prior NYC mayors have been immigrants – over two dozen, in fact. Running as a Democrat, Mamdani faced off against former Governor Andrew Cuomo from his own party in the race.
Overall, Mamdani ended up with half of the total votes, with Cuomo finishing with about 40%.
Cuomo’s policy promises didn’t offer the splash Mamdani’s did by targeting the little guy who’s felt left out.
“NYC already styles itself as a hub for digital assets and blockchain innovation,” noted Hedy Wang, CEO of crypto liquidity provider Block Street. “Under a fresh administration eager to rework economic policy, Mamdani might push for more inclusive fintech growth, supporting smaller firms and startups rather than just big players.”
Prediction market chart of New York City’s mayoral race. Source: Polymarket
On the day of the election, Mamdani had 92% odds of winning NYC’s mayoral race with over $400 million in volume placed on Polymarket.
Also, prediction market odds gave crypto industry players time to prepare for this outcome, noted Art Malkov, a web3 startup advisor for NYC-based Techstars.
“Sometimes ‘favored to win’ translates to ‘time to dust off those compliance playbooks,” Malkov told BeInCrypto. “Let’s just say the crypto community might want to enjoy this current regulatory climate while it lasts.”
No Crypto Direction For Zohran Mamdani?
Mamdani hasn’t talked at all about crypto, preferring to keep focus on popular socialist policies to entice voters for change in the Big Apple.
The tactic worked.
“He doesn’t have an explicit crypto platform,” noted Benjamin Siegel, Head of Product for DeFi protocol Octant. “If he makes NYC slightly worse for crypto but better for the vast number of New Yorkers left behind by the rising cost of rent, inflation and other pressing economic issues, that is a trade I will very happily take.”
The most well-known and onerous licensing requirements in New York for crypto companies, the BitLicense, are actually administered by the state’s Department of Financial Services.
So, the most immediate threat Mandani could pose to crypto would be higher taxes. That could result in an exodus out of the city by well-to-do innovators seeking lower costs.
Mamdani has openly talked about raising the city’s corporate taxes from 7.25% to 11.5%.
Newer NYC residents don’t seem to care about the threat of higher taxes. The majority of citizens with five to ten years in the city voted for Mamdani.
