The city of Lafayette, Louisiana, is considering rolling out its own cryptocurrency and launching an ICO to raise funds to build blockchain projects and finance public works, The Advocate reports.
Lafayette Mayor-President Joel Robideaux described the city as a technological hub, and said this advantage needs to be used to diversify the local economy and improve government services.
Robideaux said cryptocurrency would help “develop solutions targeting government inefficiencies, and, more importantly, alternatives for financing public infrastructure.”
He dispersed concerns that cryptocurrency could be used for money laundering or other nefarious purposes.
“It’s not just a bunch of global libertarians that want unregulated, untraceable and secure digital currency transactions,” Robideaux said.
“It’s the recognition of global stakeholders that the world of banking, finance and payment systems is forever changed, that the world of healthcare, government and possibly every other industry is about to be disrupted.”
The Mayor wants to use the proceeds from an ICO to “build a living lab of blockchain researchers and developers.”
If the city goes ahead with the plans, it will be be the second city in the US after Berkeley, California, which plans to sell “crypto-enabled microbonds” to finance affordable-housing projects to help its skyrocketing homelessness problem.
By Siranush Ghazanchyan