Rio de Janeiro is set to become the first crypto city in Brazil, after the municipality publicly announced that starting in 2022, the citizens of Rio will be able to use crypto in order to pay for the municipal tax, IPTU.

The news was announced during a live public event in Rio de Janeiro, with Eduardo Paes, the mayor of the city in attendance, along with his cabinet as well as officers from the municipality.

Speaking on the matter, Mayor Paes is a firm believer that allowing crypto payments for taxes will only benefit the city of Rio, and expects this project to launch the second most populous city in the country towards a digital future.

Naturally, one of the first goals of the city is to create an official, regulatory authority, i.e. institution, that will be in charge of this department. The name of this institution is the Municipal Committee for Crypto Investments, and the authority even has its first official responsibilities.

These include observing and studying the crypto scene in order to find a way to successfully turn part of the funds of Rio de Janeiro into cryptocurrencies, something that the city of Rio announced in January, after revealing that it will turn 1% of its capital into crypto.

The second obligation, on the other hand, is for the Committee to ensure compliance with all laws that include public spending.

Moreover, going with the old proverb ‘striking the iron while it’s still hot’, Pedro Paulo, the secretary of Finance and Planning for the city of Rio, reveals that this is only the beginning of the crypto plans that the government has for the city. And that in fact, the city is set to integrate crypto payments in pretty much every major industry.

It remains to see whether this decision by the municipality of Rio to become the first crypto city in Brazil will inspire the other members of the Federative Republic to pursue similar payment solutions.