Miami’s mayor unveiled a robot bull with laser eyes at a Bitcoin conference

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez unveiled a new robotic bull with laser eyes to celebrate the beginning of the Bitcoin 2022 conference in Miami.

The news: Suarez unveiled the new bull — standing at 11 feet and weighing in at 3,000 pounds — on Wednesday at the Miami Beach Convention Center, according to Vice News.

• The bull is an obvious knockoff of the iconic Wall Street bull statue.
• Per Vice News, Suarez said the statue was a “symbolic and powerful addition” to Miami that shows the “future of finance is here, in Miami.”

Why it matters: Crypto business owners are using the conference as a time to pitch new ideas and network.

The bigger picture: Miami is looking to become a cryptocurrency hot spot, bringing in crypto-based firms and entrepreneurs, per Bloomberg.

• Crypto experts see Miami — and Florida, in general — as business-friendly environments and an attractive spot for the future of finance, according to the Associated Press.
• “It’s hard to deny this is an amazing opportunity for companies to come here and build out their project in crypto,” John Bartleman, CEO of Plantation, Florida-based TradeStation, a multi-asset broker, told AP.