'Magic City’ Miami quietly charming its way to becoming America's next financial hub
'Magic City’ Miami quietly charming its way to becoming America's next financial hub originally appeared on TheStreet.
Miami, Florida's iconic coastal city known for a vibrant skyline and an even more vibrant nightlife, is making a quiet resurgence as a major cryptocurrency hub in the U.S.
The city was quick to embrace the crypto economy, with Mayor Francis Xavier Suarez accepting his paychecks in only crypto and declaring Miami the "crypto capital of the world" in 2021.
However, the bankruptcy of the Miami-headquartered FTX crypto exchange in November 2022 hurt the reputation of the crypto industry in the city.
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But Miami is quietly making a comeback to re-emerge as one of the leading crypto hubs in the U.S.
Miami's real estate industry embraces crypto
In May, Property Markets Group (PMG), a real estate company, launched crypto-to-cash payments for pre-construction condos across Florida, allowing homebuyers to invest in real estate with crypto and developers to receive payments in U.S. dollars. PMG managing partner Ryan Shear told Fox News Digital:
"Miami's crypto market's quietly coming back and I would attest that that's very much true."
The Rider Residences, another real estate company, reportedly executed Miami's first direct crypto transaction, with no fiat currency involved, around the same time.
Crypto giants establishing roots in the city
In June, Citadel Securities, a Miami-headquartered market making firm, partnered with Goldman Sachs to back a $135 million fund round for the crypto firm Digital Asset.
Gemini, a prominent crypto exchange led by the Winklevoss twins, has recently opened its first office in Miami.
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Tere Blanca, founder, chairman, and CEO of Blanca Commercial Real Estate, which closed the office lease deal for Gemini, told Fox News Digital, "Miami gained national attention early on for embracing crypto, but the more interesting story is how that early energy evolved into something much bigger."
Blanca said, "Residential sales using digital currency are already happening in Miami, and that gives us a glimpse of where things might be headed." She added:
"But what really stands out is how the companies behind these technologies are planting roots in Miami, and are poised to expand across the region."
PMG's Ryan Shear appreciated the Congress for setting "the tone for deregulating this industry" as the Donald Trump administration makes progress on crypto regulation bills.
Story Continues'Magic City’ Miami quietly charming its way to becoming America's next financial hub first appeared on TheStreet on Jul 18, 2025
This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Jul 18, 2025, where it first appeared.
