At Real Vision’s Takeover event in Las Vegas, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez announced he plans to take part of his 401k in bitcoin.

“It’s a personal choice,” Suarez told Real Vision Managing Editor Samuel Burke. “I just think it is a good asset to be invested in. I think it’s one that’s obviously going to appreciate over time. It’s one that I believe in.” 

The mayor said he’s currently exploring how he’ll receive part of his 401k in bitcoin.

When asked if payments to his retirement savings in the cryptocurrency will start in 2022, Mayor Suarez replied, “Oh yeah! Definitely.”

The mayor has already begun receiving his salary in bitcoin.

Last month, Suarez announced Miami residents would soon pay residents a “bitcoin yield” from the city’s profits from MiamiCoin, its own cryptocurrency. 

Suarez said he, and other like-minded residents, are keen to receive payments in bitcoin because of the trust they have in the cryptocurrency, despite the 28% drop in price over the past week.

“Blockchain has succeeded so well because people have confidence in it,” Suarez said. “They have confidence in it because they see that it’s an open-source and an un-manipulatable system. And I think that is the source of the popularity and why it’s done so well.”

Suarez also signaled that Miami residents would soon be able to pay their municipal fees in bitcoin.

“We just had an industry day for bitcoin exchanges, and we’re in the process of putting out an RFP (request for proposal) on that,” Suarez said. 

The mayor emphasized that part of the reason he can receive part of his 401k in bitcoin is that he is also permitted to have outside income. 

“I do have private-sector income. So, in fairness, my mayoral salary is not 100% of my income. So it’s a part of my income I can do this type of investment with.”