Mayor Eric Adams loves telling people he loves technology: from drones, to AI to Bitcoin. 

“We should not be afraid of Bitcoin. Remember y’all laughed at me when I first got my Bitcoin? Who's laughing now? Go look at my Bitcoin now. You all mock me. You're taking your first three paychecks in Bitcoin. What's wrong with you? Now you wish you would have done it,” Adams said Nov. 3.  

What You Need To Know

  • Mayor Eric Adams was in Puerto Rico on Tuesday to attend and speak about the island's cryptocurrency event 

  • The mayor has long been a supporter of cryptocurrency, taking his first three paychecks as mayor in Bitcoin and Ethereum 

  • While in Puerto Rico, Adams is fundraising for his reelection campaign 

Just a week ago, Adams was talking up Bitcoin and now he’s in Puerto Rico to celebrate the cryptocurrency. 

On Tuesday, Adams attended and spoke at the island’s annual blockchain week. 

The event is billed as a conference that delves “into blockchain, decentralized tech and sovereignty.”  

Adams' appearance at the event continues a pattern of the mayor embracing so-called “tech bros” amid the incoming Trump administration, which is largely supported by them. 

“We were a country and a city that led the globe in innovation. And look at us now. It's time. It's time for change. And I've said this for years and I'm happy that Elon is going to be part of those who are moving that change forward,” Adams said last Tuesday. 

The mayor is also close to cryptocurrency billionaire Brock Pierce. Adams flew to a political conference on Pierce’s private jet in November 2021. 

Pierce will host a fundraiser for Adams Tuesday night. Attendees are being asked to donate a minimum of $1,000.

“So much of our lives, the friction is being removed because technology, whether it be on an iPhone or whatever, is making people’s lives easier.," Julie Samuels, president and CEO of Tech: NYC, a nonprofit advocating for the city's technology industry, said. “That’s why I think it's incredibly important that are thinking about how to use frankly simple technology and how to apply those to the government."

Samuels said Adams' embrace of emerging technology sends an important signal. 

“It also sends a message to people building those technologies that they should come build them here, that they should start their companies here, that they should think about how to move the whole city and state forward,” Samuels said.  

City Hall told NY1 the trip is being paid for by taxpayers as Adams is attending in his official capacity as mayor and focusing on city issues.