He City of Santa Monica is making history by opening an official bitcoin office. The city council voted unanimously to pilot the office in partnership with the nonprofit Workforce Test no cost to the city.
The office has four key goals, according to the press release sent to bitcoin Magazine: providing bitcoin education, facilitating partnerships and conferences to grow tourism, connecting residents with jobs, and exploring sustainable bitcoin mining powered by the city’s renewable energy.
Vice Mayor Lana Negrete, who spearheaded the initiative, said, “As we embark on a journey to learn about bitcoin in Santa Monica, I'm excited to see the next ideas. bitcoin is for everyone!”
Santa Monica follows the model of El Salvador, which became the first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender in 2021. El Salvador has since opened a bitcoin office and attracted significant bitcoin-related investment and tourism.
By adopting bitcoin, Santa Monica hopes to replicate some of this success. The city has an annual budget of $700 million and welcomed 4.5 million visitors, spending nearly $1 billion by 2023.
Other recent bitcoin developments in Santa Monica include firefighters embracing bitcoin self-custody and city leaders visiting El Salvador to study their bitcoin adoption firsthand.
As more places like Santa Monica explore bitcoin, it validates the growing view that cities and countries can gain an advantage by positioning themselves as bitcoin-friendly destinations.
Dom Bei, founder of Proof of Workforce, said: “Santa Monica’s future is bright orange!” On Wednesday, he plans to unveil a special bitcoin image on the Santa Monica Pier to celebrate the city’s new bitcoin initiative.
