It’s no secret that Eric Adams, the next Mayor of New York City, is a fan of cryptocurrencies. However, he took his commitment to monetary and financial alternatives one step further yesterday when he announced on Twitter that he would take his first three paychecks as mayor in bitcoin, in response to a similar commitment by Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. Adams went on to say that New York City “is going to be the center of the cryptocurrency industry and other fast-growing, innovative industries! Just wait!”

With private cryptocurrencies regularly reaching new heights and continuing to gain U.S. politicians as supporters, one can’t help but wonder: does America need a public digital currency?

The Fed promised to release a discussion paper over the summer that would discuss how a central bank digital currency (CBDC) might come to fruition in the United States. However, they soon postponed the release to “the fall.” And now one can’t help but wonder if it won’t soon be postponed again to the “the winter.” However, as the Fed continues to delay its discussion, the world of private digital currency continues to press forward.

Over the past 12 months, there has been unprecedented support from prominent members of the government and private sector alike. Indeed, major companies like Tesla and Square bought vast sums of bitcoin over the past year. At the same time, large financial institutions like Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have started exploring opportunities in the cryptocurrency space. And Senator Cynthia Lummis (R‑WY), Senator Pat Toomey (R‑PA), Representative Tom Emmer (R‑MN), Representative Warren Davidson (R‑OH), and others have similarly rallied to support the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry.

Meanwhile, many of the Fed’s leading officials have openly questioned the rationale for providing central bank digital currency. Earlier this year, Fed Governor Christopher Waller said, “I am left with the conclusion that a CBDC remains a solution in search of a problem.” And more recently, Fed Governor Randal Quarles said,

Until somebody answers me the question why, I don’t understand why we would devote the enormous amount of resources and the technological risk and the significant disruption to the current operation of the financial system that would come from the central bank saying we are going to provide this digital currency.

So it remains to be seen if the future of digital currency is public, private, or some combination of the two. However, one thing is for certain: the innovations in the private market are making waves. And those waves are being seen from New York to Miami. It’s only a matter of time before the cryptocurrency industry starts making meaningful impacts from coast to coast.