Detroit will accept cryptocurrency in 2025 for taxes and fees

Whether you have bucks or bitcoin, Detroit says it will soon count the same. 

The city is preparing to accept cryptocurrency payments for taxes and other fees starting next year, allowing residents to convert digital currency to American dollars through a secure platform managed by PayPal. The idea came from a Detroiter who asked Mayor Mike Duggan at a recent charter-mandated meeting why the city doesn’t accept digital currency.

The city would become the largest to accept cryptocurrency payments.

“One of the things we’ve got to do as a state is keep our young people,” Duggan said Thursday. “Our biggest export in Michigan isn’t cars, it’s our young people. This really bubbled up from young people saying, ‘Why doesn’t Detroit get with the latest technology?’” 

Treasurer Nikhil Patel said the option should be ready by July, in time for residents to pay their summer property taxes. Patel said the city will look to expand the payment option to other city departments, allowing residents to use digital currency to pay water bills, parking tickets and other fees. Duggan said the city won’t be holding any cryptocurrency.

“The city is not going to manage the risk of the ups and downs of the crypto market,” Duggan said. “It gets converted into dollars at the time you pay by PayPal.” 

Detroit is also accepting pitches for innovative uses of blockchain technology, which is essentially a digital ledger that records transactions across a decentralized network of computers. The technology makes it difficult to alter records. Duggan said he’s interested in projects that could elevate blockchain’s potential for improving data security. 

“I have people who stop me on the street and say ‘your real estate records would be a lot better if you use blockchain,’” Duggan said. “If you have an idea that you think city government could work better with blockchain technology, you can put in a pitch. There’s a lot of problems in this country that can be solved with blockchain technology, and that’s separate from the currency.” 

Blockchain entrepreneurs and innovators are invited to send proposals to pitchdetroit@detroitmi.gov by Dec. 15.

Proposals should include descriptions of the proposed solutions, potential stakeholders, costs, risks and should also outline how their ideas will improve city services and benefit city residents.

Neither Duggan or Patel invest in cryptocurrency, they said.