PORTSMOUTH \u2014 Residents seeking to make payments to the city can now do so using cryptocurrency through PayPal, according to Mayor Deaglan McEachern.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s waves of new things that are going to affect us in terms of our future that use the type of technology used in cryptocurrency,\u201d McEachern said Monday. \u201cI want to make sure Portsmouth is not waiting around to see how this is going to affect us in the future, because it\u2019s already affecting us.\u201d<\/p>\n
A cryptocurrency is a digital or\u00a0virtual currency\u00a0that is secured by cryptography, which makes it nearly impossible to counterfeit or double-spend, according to Investopedia. They enable secure online payments without the use of third-party intermediaries.<\/p>\n Biden signs cryptocurrency order:<\/strong>President hopes to advance a digital dollar and other innovations<\/a><\/p>\n In New Hampshire:<\/strong>Sununu launches cryptocurrency commission, seeks ‘legal and regulatory certainty’<\/a><\/p>\n Portsmouth residents can’t directly pay their property tax bills<\/a> or make other payments to the city using cryptocurrency at this point, McEachern acknowledged.<\/p>\n Instead, people will have to use PayPal, which is a payment vendor the city has been accepting for months, according to Nancy Bates, a revenue administrator\/tax collector for the city.<\/p>\n\n \u201cCity customers who have cryptocurrency stored in their PayPal<\/a> account can now make payments to the city using that cryptocurrency when they choose PayPal as their payment method,\u201d she said in a memo to City Manager Karen Conard. \u201cThis new payment method has no impact on the city\u2019s financial practices as the cryptocurrency is converted to U.S. currency by PayPal before it is sent to our payment processor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n Downtown Portsmouth:<\/strong>Tuscan Market removes outdoor tables, for now, amid renovations<\/a><\/p>\n McEachern brought the idea to city officials as a way to embrace \u201cthe underlying technology\u201d used in cryptocurrencies<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cBy creating more ways to pay bills, we\u2019re enabling greater participation,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n He asked for his one-time $500 bonus for being elected mayor to be delivered in cryptocurrency as a way for him to learn more about the process.<\/p>\n\n He hasn\u2019t received it yet, but when he does he will convert it to cash and donate the monies, McEachern said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s something I\u2019ve been interested in and because we\u2019re a small city, we can move quickly and try this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n![\"There](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/media\/2022\/03\/14\/USATODAY\/usatsports\/247WallSt.com-247WS-1067123-crypto-rect.png?width=660&height=369&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp\")
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