New China-backed city to run completely on cryptocurrency

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

There have already been floating islands built on cryptocurrency and entire nations recognizing crypto as legal tender. The transformation of crypto from just some novelty to a real economic solution continues, as a Malaysian city backed by China’s government is going to be entirely built on cryptocurrency. Welcome to the city of the future, Malacca. 

According to a report by the U.K.’s Express media outlet, Malacca will take 835 acres of its land to create Melaka Straits City, the “tourist blockchain destination of the future.” It will use the blockchain for all of its functions and crypto will be the legal tender. Malacca is creating its own digital currency, the DMI, to make it possible and will become the first city in all of Asia to completely embrace blockchain technology on this level.

City representative Lim Keng explains, “Tourists in the city will have to exchange their money for digital currencies, which they can use to pay for services using phones or computers. The DMI web application will be available on PC and the mobile application will run on Android and IOS devices to provide flexibility regardless of user preferences.”

Malacca may become the first city to run on blockchain, but it isn’t the first to explore the option. Hong Kong, Buenos Aires, Toronto, Amsterdam and Zug all have a substantial amount of crypto use and are helping to fuel the global transition to digital currency acceptance. Additionally, Australia has seen a considerable amount of adoption, with merchants joining the campaign on a continuous basis. The country is also home to Agnes Water in Queensland, which adopted crypto last summer to help attract tourists. 

This past February, Liberstad in Norway decided to get rid of fiat in favor of crypto. Liberstad is a newer city, having been founded in 2017, and is described as a “smart city platform that enables the design, implementation and use of next-generation services for smart cities and their inhabitants.”

Whether the market sees volatility or stability, crypto adoption continues to spread across the globe. The wheels have already been set in motion and there isn’t going to be any reversal of the forward progress that has been made. Even non-crypto enthusiasts are beginning to recognize the role digital currency is playing in a global economy and have acknowledged that, within five years, crypto is going to be a routine component of financial transactions.