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MAYOR-ELECT MAMDANI ANNOUNCES “SOLANA EQUITY PROGRAM,” REQUIRING ALL NEW YORKERS TO HOLD SOLANA IN CITY-APPROVED WALLETS NEW YORK CITY — In a surprise announcement that’s already sending shockwaves through the crypto and finance worlds, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani unveiled his flagship initiative: the Solana Equity Program, a sweeping plan to “ensure every New Yorker has a fair stake in the digital economy.” Under the proposal, all residents will be required to hold at least 10 SOL in a city-approved self-custody wallet by January 2026, with Solflare named as the “official municipal wallet provider.” “If we can require car insurance,” Mandani told reporters at City Hall, “we can require digital inclusion. Owning Solana isn’t speculation — it’s participation.” The initiative introduces several unprecedented measures: Each household will receive a CityStipend Airdrop, a one-time credit of $25 USDC to cover initial Solana purchases. Every New Yorker will receive a Solflare account setup link in their 2026 tax portal, pre-configured for local staking. Those who fail to comply by the deadline will be automatically enrolled via the “Public Custody Program”, managed by the Department of Financial Uplift. Participants who stake their SOL to the city’s validator will receive a commemorative NFT titled “I Validated New York.” Mandani described the plan as “the next logical step after public libraries and public Wi-Fi,” promising that “no New Yorker will be left un-staked.” He concluded: “In this city, we don’t just build bridges and subways — we build validators.” The news immediately triggered a surge in Google searches for “what is Solana,” while Coinbase briefly crashed under a wave of New Yorkers trying to prove they “already bought some months ago.”