New York City Director Brad Lander rejected Mayor Eric Adams’ proposal to issue Bitcoin-backed municipal bonds.
Lander asserts that New York City will not issue Bitcoin-backed bonds to his watch. His stance directly opposes Mayor Adams, famous for his love for code.
Both men are candidates for the mayoral election in November, so the department on this topic can be resolved when the city heads to vote. Mayor Adams runs an independent and Lander is a Democratic candidate.
This morning we caught up with @NBCNewYork, and @Andrewcuomo called for his absurd attempts to rewrite history with his awful labor records. While Cuomo needed $1 million in funding to make a bid, I fought Doordash to deliver a $21 minimum wage. pic.twitter.com/zrdp5d8fpy
-May 28, 2025, Bladlander (@Bradlander)
Mayor Adams’s crypto plan could stall if he doesn’t return to office
Mayor Adams has been campaigning to make New York City a crypto hub in the near future, and has set up an advisory committee to that end.
But if he fails to maintain his seat as mayor and takes over by a man who believes “cryptocurrency is not stable enough to fund our city’s infrastructure, affordable housing, or schools,” then we don’t know what will happen with Mayor Adams continuing to move.
Lander also believes that “by proposing that New York City should open a capital plan in crypto, we can put our cities at new risk and erode bond buyers’ trust in our cities.”
Mayor Adams spoke about his Bitbond proposal at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
At the event, he reiterated his pledge to make New York City “globe crypto capital,” and announced the creation of a Digital Asset Advisory Committee, “here we bring Fintech employment and investment to the Big Apple.”
Lander called Mayor Adams’ proposal “legally questionable and financially irresponsible,” saying, “the current federal tax system would not allow tax exemption funds to acquire cryptocurrency or allow investment benefits beyond the cost of financing federal government subsidies.”
Lander doesn’t buy crypto hype
Politicians like Adams, Francis Suarez, Cynthia Ramis, Andrew Yang, Tom Emmer, Pat Tohmy, Ron DeSantis and Kirsten Gillibrand all take crypto stances, but others doubt the underlying cryptography.
Besides Lander, another well-known critic of the code is Elizabeth Warren. She is an outspoken crypto critic and is well-known for introducing the 2023 Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act. 
She believes Crypto is a “favourable tool” for terrorists, drug traffickers and money launderers, making many other interesting claims.
Warren’s stance on Crypto is shared by Bernie Sanders, both working with regulations to limit bank involvement with Crypto, lacking “real public objectives” and benefiting speculators while primarily causing economic losses to others. Sanders also supports measures to limit the environmental and economic impact of crypto.
All of these politicians who appear to be anti-cryptic have shared concerns about industry volatility, potential criminal use, environmental impacts and lack of consumer protection.
Lander’s enthusiastic response to Bitbond reflects a cautious attitude consistent with broader democratic skepticism about crypto stability and utility.
Lander and other anti-cryptic politicians have pushed for stricter regulations in the hopes of addressing the perceived gap in surveillance.