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Zohran Mamdani won the election of mayor of New York City after a long campaign. Last year, the city’s crypto industry was watching closely to see what a Mamdani municipality could mean for the blocked space.
The Associated Press called the race in Mamdani’s favor on Wednesday. He defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who was an independent, and Republican Curtis Silva. Mamdani’s campaign focused on cost-of-living issues in New York City, such as rent and childcare, and proposed funding these initiatives with a tax on the top 1% of the city.
Some in the cryptocurrency industry, such as Gemini crypto exchange co-founder Tyler Winklevoss, were upset by Mamdani’s popularity in the polls. Critics said his policies would be a disaster for businesses in the city.
Although Mamdani has made few public comments about cryptocurrencies, the industry is now watching to see how the policies of the elected mayor will affect the digital asset.
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.
The few times he mentioned crypto, his statements had little to do with politics or whether he supported the industry in New York City.
In 2023, after the implosion of the Terra stablecoin system and the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange, New York State Attorney General Letitia James introduced a bill to protect consumers.
In the words of James, the project would be introduce “common sense measures to protect investors and end the fraud and dysfunction that have become the hallmarks of cryptocurrency.”
Mamdani, who at the time was a member of the New York City Assembly, supported the bill, affirming“When crypto companies collapse, it’s not the rich who suffer, it’s the small investors who come disproportionately from communities of color and low-income.”
The mayor-elect also mentioned crypto in relation to his opponent, Cuomo. In April, Mamdani noted that Cuomo had recommended the OKX crypto exchange over a probe by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
The investigation eventually sees OKX plead guilty of violating US Anti-Money Laundering laws and paying more than $500 million in penalties.
The two statements above, while mentioning crypto, focused on other elements of Mamdani’s campaign, including consumer protection and accessibility issues, and the contrast with a political opponent.
However, this has not stopped him from drawing the ire of prominent members of the New York crypto industry or the broader blockchain space.
Related: Pro-crypto org supports Andrew Cuomo for mayor of New York as election approaches
In response to comments Mamdani made about the billionaires’ tax, White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks he wrote“Wake up, Silicon Valley. This is the future of the Democratic Party. Communism has defeated liberalism. Even Bill Clinton has bent the knee. You basically have two choices now: Get on board with MAGA or prepare to be on Mamdani’s dinner menu.”
Tyler Winklevoss claimed that Mamdani was supported by spoiled, educated university students. “They have never learned the value of Western civilization by not understanding why, or knowing how, to fight for it.”
Shaun Maguire, a partner at Sequoia who led the firm’s investment in the stablecoin platform Bridge, offered an Islamophobic critic, who said: “The West will learn this lesson the hard way.”
Concerns about a Mamdani mayoralty have translated into large donations to the Cuomo campaign from the bigwigs of the financial industry. hedge fund manager Bill Ackman said donated $1 million to Defend NYC and $250,000 to Fix the City, two anti-Mamdani political action committees (PACs).
Mamdani answered“He has spent more money against me than I have yet taxed him.”
Innovate NY PAC, a lobbying committee for the crypto and AI industry, announced that he endorsed Cuomo. The announcement came on October 28, just a week after Cuomo tried to curtail the crypto industry announcing a digital asset development strategy. Cointelegraph reported that Innovate had already contributed $30,000 to Cuomo’s campaign.
What can the mayor do?
Despite vocal opposition from financiers and crypto industry heavyweights, the mayor’s real impact on crypto is limited.
Securities and finance laws originate from Albany and Washington, and any changes that the mayor might want to implement in this area must first be approved by the state and federal governments.
The mayor has influence over things like municipal tax, licenses and building permits, all of which can affect the crypto industry if the mayor decides to push these buttons. But even here, the influence of the mayor’s office is limited.
Related: NYC mayor establishes digital asset and blockchain office
As noticed from crypto lawyer Aaron Brogan, “The truth is that cryptocurrency companies generally operate light. They don’t need massive real estate or specialized equipment, just a room full of human capital and an idea. This makes them relatively less sensitive on the development side from local pressures. Obviously, energy-intensive applications like Bitcoin mining are a different story, but no one does that in New York.”
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 avoid the state entirely, or exist within the state BitLicense regime, which likely insulates them from direct pressure from the city.”
Mamdani will not take the oath of office until January 1, 2026, and even then, he will have to fight hard to influence the policies he campaigned on. How and if they target or even touch the crypto industry remains to be seen.
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