New York City is once again placing a strategic bet on blockchain technology, defying years of skepticism by launching a comprehensive government-wide plan aimed at exploring new use cases for distributed ledgers. On Friday, outgoing Mayor Eric Adams unveiled a 61-page “blockchain plan” designed to guide city agencies as they assess potential applications, risks, and governance frameworks for a technology that many outside the crypto industry have largely dismissed. The initiative arrives just days before Adams leaves office, raising questions about its long-term future under the incoming administration.
The plan, developed over the past 18 months, frames blockchain as an emerging technology still worthy of study rather than a proven solution. According to a letter from New York City Chief Technology Officer Matthew Fraser, the goal is to help agencies investigate opportunities, improve public understanding of digital systems, and coordinate citywide efforts around digital assets and ledger-based infrastructure. The document also expands on an executive order signed last October that formally established the city’s Office of Digital Assets and Blockchain Technology, led by Moises Rendon, a longtime policy adviser within the Office of Technology and Innovation.
Mayor Adams has been one of the most vocal blockchain and crypto advocates among U.S. city leaders, previously making headlines by taking his first mayoral paychecks in bitcoin and promoting New York as a global crypto hub. This new plan continues that legacy, even as enthusiasm for blockchain outside speculative finance has waned. While cryptocurrencies remain the technology’s most visible application, blockchain adoption across state and local governments has been sporadic and often short-lived, with many pilot programs failing to demonstrate clear advantages over conventional databases.
The city’s roadmap includes a limited number of exploratory initiatives, most notably a pilot project led by the Department of Environmental Protection to examine whether blockchain could be used to verify asbestos certification records. Beyond that, the plan suggests potential applications in digital credentials, permits, licenses, and broader data management, though it offers few concrete details on implementation timelines or expected outcomes. It also proposes the creation of an interagency working group, a public-facing information hub focused on consumer safety, and technical guidance centered on equity, privacy, access, and data security.
What the document notably avoids addressing is the core criticism that has followed blockchain for years: the lack of a compelling, scalable use case outside cryptocurrencies. As far back as 2021, former Nebraska Chief Information Officer Ed Toner openly challenged proponents to identify any widespread value blockchain had delivered to government operations. That challenge remains largely unanswered. Even as some agencies have experimented with the technology, most projects have struggled to show meaningful efficiency gains or cost reductions.
There have been isolated examples that supporters often cite. The California Department of Motor Vehicles used blockchain last year to digitize 42 million vehicle titles in an effort to reduce fraud and simplify transfers. Rhode Island’s Department of Commerce experimented with blockchain-based business licensing in 2023, though public updates on its effectiveness have been limited. Earlier efforts to use blockchain for mobile voting were ultimately abandoned after security researchers exposed serious flaws, reinforcing concerns about suitability for critical civic functions.
Criticism from the technical community has been unusually blunt. In 2022, more than 1,500 engineers and technologists signed an open letter to Congress arguing that blockchain facilitates few real-economy uses and lacks essential features such as transaction reversibility and privacy controls. Legal scholars like Hilary Allen of American University have described blockchain as an inefficient and performative technology that shifts power rather than eliminating it, often concentrating control in the hands of crypto firms and wealthy insiders rather than delivering on decentralization promises.
From a market perspective, New York City’s renewed interest is unlikely to move crypto prices directly, but it does underscore a broader trend of governments continuing to explore blockchain despite mounting criticism. For institutional crypto advocates, the plan offers symbolic validation that public-sector experimentation is not over. For skeptics, it highlights the persistence of what they see as a solution in search of a problem.
The unanswered question is whether this initiative will survive the political transition. Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has not yet indicated whether his administration will continue the blockchain plan, leaving its long-term impact uncertain. What is clear is that New York City’s move reopens a debate the tech world thought had largely been settled. As governments grapple with digital modernization, the city’s experiment will serve as another high-profile test of whether blockchain can finally prove its value beyond crypto, or whether it will once again fade into the background after the headlines pass.
