Zohran Mamdani won the New York City mayoral election after a long campaign. Over the past year, the city’s crypto industry has been watching closely to see what a small boom means for the blockchain space.
The Associated Press called The race in Mamdani’s favor on Wednesday. He defeated former governor Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent, and Republican Curtis Silwa. Mamdani’s campaign focused on cost-of-living issues in New York City, such as rent and child care, and proposed funding these initiatives with a tax on the city’s top 1% earners.
Some in the cryptocurrency industry, such as crypto exchange Gemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss, were disappointed by Mamdani’s popularity in the polls. Critics declared that his policies would be a disaster for the city’s businesses.
Despite Mamdani making few public comments about cryptocurrencies, the industry is now watching to see how the mayor-elect’s policies will impact.
Mamdani’s position on crypto is unclear
While other mayoral candidates, notably Cuomo and former mayor Eric Adams, have made public statements supporting the crypto industry, Mamdani has not.
He has mentioned crypto several times, his remarks had nothing to do with policy or whether he would support the industry in New York City.
In 2023, following the implosion of the Terra StableCoin system and the collapse of the Cryptocurrency Exchange FTX, New York State Attorney Letitia James introduced a consumer protection measure.
In the words of James, the bill is introduce “Commonsense measures to protect investors and end the fraud and dysfunction that have become hallmarks of cryptocurrency.”
Mamdani, who at the time was a member of the New York City Assembly, supported the bill, saying“When crypto companies fail, it’s not the wealthy who suffer, it’s small investors who disproportionately come from low-income and communities of color.”
The mayor-elect also mentioned crypto as a concern of his opponent, Cuomo. In April, Mamdani noted that Cuomo advised Crypto Exchange OKX in an investigation from the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Investigation later found OKX please pleaded guilty to flouting US anti-money laundering laws and is paying more than $500 million in penalties.
Both of the above statements, while mentioning Crypto, focus more on other elements of Mamdani’s campaign, including consumer protection and usability, and compare him to a political opponent.
However, this hasn’t stopped him from drawing prominent members of New York’s crypto industry or the blockchain space more broadly.
Related: Pro-crypto org backs Andrew Cuomo for NYC mayor as election strategy
In response to comments made by Mamdani about taxing billionaires, White House AI and Crypto Czar David Sacks write“Wake Up, Silicon Valley. This is the future of the Democrat Party. Communism defeated Liberalism. Even Bill Clinton is on bended knee. You basically have two choices today: ride the wave or get ready to be on the Mamdani dinner menu.”
Tyler Winklevoss claimed Mamdani is supported by broke, educated university students. “They haven’t learned the value of Western civilization so they don’t understand why, or know how, to fight it.”
Shaun Maguire, a partner at Sequoia who led the firm’s investment in the StableCoin Platform Bridge, offered An Islamophobic critic, saying, “The West will learn this lesson the hard way.”
Concerns over a mamdani mayoralty translated into large donations to Cuomo’s campaign from financial industry bigwigs. Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman has been reported given $1 million to defend NYC and $250,000 to repair the city, two anti-Mamdani Political Action Committees (PACS).
attract respond“He spent more money against me than I would tax him.”
Innovate NY PAC, an advocacy committee for the crypto and AI industries, announced that it has endorsed Cuomo. The announcement came on October 28, just a week after Cuomo attempted to court the crypto industry by Announcing a digital asset development strategy. Cointelegraph reported that Innovate contributed $30,000 to Cuomo’s campaign.
What can the mayor do?
Despite vocal opposition from financiers and crypto industry heavyweights, the mayor’s actual impact on crypto has been limited.
Security and finance laws come from Albany and Washington, and any changes the mayor wants to implement in this area must first be approved by the state and federal governments.
The mayor has influence over things like municipal taxes, licensing and building permits, all of which could affect the crypto industry if the mayor decides to push these buttons. But even here, the mayor’s influence is limited.
Related: NYC Mayor establishes digital assets and blockchain office
Count mentioned By crypto lawyer Aaron Brogan, “The truth is that cryptocurrency companies generally run light. They don’t need huge real estate or specialized equipment, just a room full of human capital and an idea. This makes the development side a little less sensitive from local pressures. Obviously, energy-intensive applications like Bitcoin mining are a different story, but nothing is being done in New York anyway.
The ability for the mayor to exercise control from the retail level is also limited, Brogan said, thanks in part to the state’s strict bitlicense requirements. “Many companies will avoid the state entirely or otherwise not exist within the state’s Bitlicense regime, which will likely insulate them from direct city pressure.”
Mamdani won’t take the oath of office until January 1, 2026, and even then, he’ll have to fight hard to affect the policies he campaigned on. How and if they will target or even touch the crypto industry remains to be seen.
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