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COOL VALLEY, Mo. – The leader of one St. Louis County community says that he wants to give $1,000 in Bitcoin to every Cool Valley household. Mayor Jayson Stewart recently tweeted, “I want to mine #bitcoin for the residents of my town. They deserve it.”

There are just over 1,100 people who live in the community located along I-70 near the University of Missouri St. Louis. In April 2020 139 of them voted Stewart into office. In 2019 the median income for people living in the area was around $23,000 with a 21% poverty rate.

Before running for mayor Stewart tells Bitcoin Magazine that he was an entrepreneur and an environmentalist. He spent the last five years, “cleaning the ocean.” His passion is making the earth a better place.

Stewart says that he noticed some problems in his city after moving back to the area to help a family member with a medical issue. He decided to run for mayor to take on the challenges associated with the justice system, the environment, and to decriminalize cannabis.

“I’m so in love with Bitcoin, and the community and why it exists, the problem that it solves, and how it goes about solving that problem. I’m just in awe of Bitcoin and I see it as something that can really help out our city and our residents,” said Stewart.

Stewart got into Bitcoin in 2015. He worked for a startup with clients who paid in Bitcoin. He liked the idea of digital currency and thinks it can be a boon to his community.

“I would say one of my personal missions in life is to destroy the fear uncertainty and doubt of Bitcoin and its effect on the environment. I just believe that the energy usage is worth it. It’s one of the most worthwhile things humans have ever created. It doesn’t use that much energy,” said Stewart. “It’s actually accelerating the advancement of renewable energy from solar to even flared gas mining, there are so many cool things.”

It is not yet clear how the mayor would distribute or mine the Bitcoin. But, he is certainly getting a lot of attention from the cryptocurrency community with articles in several trade publications, a feature on Nasdaq.com, and speaking to a Harvard class.