The latest contender for the leadership of
the Republican Party said he is an advocate for crypto.
“The current regime, clearly, has it out
for Bitcoin,” Ron DeSantis said during a Twitter space with Elon Musk and
venture capitalist David Sacks in which he officially announced his bid for
U.S. president. “And if it continues for another four years, they’ll probably
end up killing it.”
DeSantis said he views crypto as a question
of civil liberties. As Florida’s governor, he signed legislation prohibiting
the use of central bank digital currencies within the state (although some
lawyers question if the law does what it says).
“I just do not have the itch to have to
control everything that people may be doing in this space,” he said. “Bitcoin
represents a threat to them, they’re trying to regulate it out of existence.”
During the interview, DeSantis insisted on
Congressional authorization for a CBDC, vowing to avoid it during his potential
presidency, due to concerns over its potential misuse to influence politically
unfavorable purchases.
Some have argued, however, that CBDCs
enshrine constitutional protections over commerce, giving these unfavorable
purchasers or merchants – such as someone buying ammunition or a pornographer
selling their creations – a defense against un-banking that can’t be used when
dealing with a private company.
Regardless, CBDCs might be the newest wedge
issue in U.S. politics.
In a recent interview with CoinDesk, Samuel
Armes, president of the Florida Blockchain Business Association, which helped
draft DeSantis’ anti-CBDC bill, said that DeSantis’ office has gotten more
phone calls about CBDCs than any of the usual issues.
A recent poll from Quinnipiac University
shows that DeSantis still trails former president Donald Trump among Republican
and Republican-leaning voters, with 56% supporting Trump followed by 25% for
DeSantis.
DeSantis isn't the first Republican
candidate to mention bitcoin. Former pharma entrepreneur and longshot contender
Vivek Ramaswamy said onstage at Bitcoin 2023 in Miami that the next election
should be a "referendum of fiat currency" and has also come out
against CBDCs with a "hell no."
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