- He believes Congress should authorize CBDCs, promised to avoid the issue as president
- It has been argued that CBDCs value legal protection more than commerce
Ron DeSantis, who officially announced his bid as Republican Party candidate for US president, admitted he was a crypto advocate during a Twitter space with Elon Musk. He said that if the current regime stays in power for another four years, they’ll end up killing Bitcoin, as reported by CoinDesk.
Crypto is an issue of “civil liberty”
According to the governor of Florida, crypto is an issue of civil liberties. He did sign laws banning the use of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) in Florida, although the effect of the law is ambiguous according to some lawyers.
DeSantis said on Twitter:
I just do not have the itch to have to control everything that people may be doing in this space. Bitcoin represents a threat to them, they’re trying to regulate it out of existence.
He also said Congress should authorize CBDCs, promising to avoid the issue if he becomes president due to concerns of manipulation and impact on politically unfavorable purchases.
However, it has been argued that CBDCs value legal protection more than commerce. If someone bought weapons or sold pornographic content, they would be protected from un-banking, which wouldn’t be the case if one was dealing with a private company.
CBDCs are a thorny matter in US politics
Samuel Armes, who helped draft Florida’s anti-CBDC bill, told CoinDesk in an interview that DeSantis’ office received more phone calls about these currencies than about any other issue.
According to a poll from Quinnipiac University, Trump is still far ahead of DeSantis among Republican and Republican-leaning voters. 56% favor Trump, and only 25% support DeSantis.
Vivek Ramaswamy, another Republican candidate for president, has spoken out against CBDCs. The former pharmaceutical entrepreneur said at Bitcoin 2023 in Miami that the next election should be a “referendum of fiat currency.”
