Reno, Nevada – often dubbed the “biggest little city in the world” – has some massive cryptocurrency ambitions. It’s now looking to establish a city-based blockchain system to help residents ease their way further into the world of web3.
Reno, Nevada Is Eager to Enter the Blockchain Space
Mayor Hillary Schieve serves on a committee known as the Conference of Mayors, which also features Francis Suarez of Miami. Suarez has long been a proponent of bitcoin, even going so far as to accept his paychecks in BTC, and it appears Schieve is a blockchain and crypto fan herself after announcing her city’s latest project.
Not long ago, Schieve unveiled her first blockchain staple which involved creating a non-fungible token (NFT) based on the 2016 Burning Man event. Known as the Space Whale, Schieve talked about the token in a recent interview, commenting:
We ended up buying it… and we wanted to do an NFT. It’s the first time that as a citizen you could own a piece of public art. This is a way all of us can have ownership, and that money would go back to public arts programs.
One of the big things the new blockchain project is slated to do for the city of Reno is to improve its filing processes and keep all its records organized. Right now – according to Schieve – Reno is following old and traditional methods of keeping files together. The city has many boxes of old papers and records tucked away in closets and other spaces, and the mayor would like to see these processes end and become more modern.
She believes the blockchain and the power of web3 will help Reno get its act together and record all its files digitally where they cannot be tampered with and where they’re available to everyone. She said:
Much of our historic registry files are in banker boxes or file cabinets – tucked away, not easily accessible. So, we were looking at ways to make these digitally accessible, and blockchain just happened to be one of those… There are so many systems and departments that all [must] work together when it comes to municipal government – approving different permits and certificates of appropriateness. So, having one place where everyone is working on the same thing and can see the exact progress of the project is so valuable.
Not Everyone’s Happy
Reno has encountered some issues with this plan due to the amount of resistance people seem to have towards blockchain and crypto. Many still see the digital currency space as wrought with crime and fraud, and they don’t want private or public records subjected to those seeking to commit illicit acts. Schieve says:
A lot of people are like, ‘What are you talking about, cryptocurrencies? Is that dark money?’ I don’t think people have been that receptive.
