Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said he is trying to capitalize on a major shift toward mining cryptocurrencies in the U.S. amid a widespread crackdown on such activities in China.

“The turning point is now,” Suarez said Tuesday by phone. “It creates an incredible opportunity for America.”

As first reported by the Wall Street Journal Monday, Suarez said he has been actively trying to sell crypto miners on the opportunities in South Florida, including clean energy options — such as nuclear, solar and hydroelectric — that may be amenable to investors with a heightened concern for the environmental impact of the energy-intensive industry.

Suarez noted that he has spoken to utility Florida Power & Light Co. Chief Executive Eric Silagy about luring crypto business to the area. He said he has tried to “put people together” with the NextEra Energy Inc. subsidiary to consider mining opportunities.

“I know that those talks are ongoing; I don’t know of any deals that have been formalized,” he said.

Suarez has been seeking to rebrand Miami as a key hub for the emerging crypto economy, and he’s met with some success in the past year, as the pandemic work-from-anywhere revolution took hold. Crypto exchanges eToro and Blockchain.com have announced South Florida offices, while crypto finance firm XBTO is sponsoring soccer team Inter Miami CF’s jerseys and the National Basketball League’s Miami Heat have renamed their stadium FTX Arena, after cryptocurrency exchange FTX.us. 

Suarez for his part has enjoyed a level national celebrity that was unheard of for a mayor of the City of Miami — a relatively low-key job that’s typically overshadowed by the more powerful Miami-Dade County mayor — building his national following in large part using Twitter to court jobs in technology and crypto.