New York City Comptroller Candidate: Plans to allocate 1%-3% of the city's pension funds to cryptocurrency

New York City comptroller candidate Reshma Patel unveiled her planned measures against cryptocurrencies on her personal website on Monday, including a call for each of the city's five retirement funds to invest 1% to 3% in cryptocurrencies.

“I wanted to make sure we emerged from the economic fallout of COVID-19 and steered the city’s economy in the right direction,” said Reshma Patel. “I started thinking about new approaches we could try, one of which was making our government institutions more transparent to improve efficiency.”

The Auditor General is responsible for overseeing the management of city funds, especially the management project contracts and the operation of the city's pension fund in cooperation with the government. According to his personal election website, if Patel is elected, encryption technology and blockchain will play a huge role in his economic recovery plan and future city financial planning. One specific example is to invest 1% to 3% of the funds of each of the city's five pension funds in cryptocurrencies.

"Fears about inflation are justified, which is why some of the world's most forward-thinking companies, such as Tesla and Square, have invested a portion of their total cash reserves in Bitcoin," Patel wrote in his city plan. "It is clear that cryptocurrencies have a future in finance and should have a place in New York City's financial planning."

Regarding blockchain applications, Patel plans to recruit a special research group to study how the city can invest in blockchain technology more directly. According to Patel's personal website, "The investment will obtain higher returns and support financial technology startups in New York City, while learning more about how to implement cutting-edge technology and benefit the people." Patel also hopes to use blockchain in the procurement system to solve problems such as government efficiency and anti-corruption. She said that the use of blockchain can ensure the transparency and efficiency required for institutional cooperation.

Current City Comptroller Scott Stringer is running for mayor of New York City when his term ends this year. He has said that if elected, he would make New York City the "epicenter of crypto technology."

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