Republican Candidate Aims to End Biden’s ‘War on Bitcoin’

Digital Currency Regulations and Presidential Campaigns

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has made economic independence a key pillar of his 2024 presidential campaign, taking a stance on digital currencies. During a campaign event in New Hampshire on July 31, DeSantis stated his plans to ban central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) if he wins the Republican nomination and the presidential race in 2025. He also promised to end the current administration’s “war on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency”.

The U.S. government’s plans for a CBDC have been met with criticism from DeSantis, who compared them to China’s digital yuan trials. The governor expressed his belief that “unaccountable elites” in the government could not be trusted to handle the potential rollout of a digital dollar.

President Biden has already taken steps to regulate digital currencies, signing an executive order in March 2022 that established a regulatory framework. The Securities and Exchange Commission has also filed several lawsuits against crypto firms, and the Department of Justice has overseen criminal charges for former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky.

As the crypto industry continues to grow, the implications of digital currency regulations on presidential campaigns have become increasingly clear. DeSantis’ stance on CBDCs and Bitcoin may be a harbinger of the debates to come in the 2024 election.

Cryptocurrency in the U.S. Presidential Election

“The Fed wants to go to a cashless society and eliminate cryptocurrency,” claimed DeSantis. “As president, on day one, CBDC goes into the trash can — we’re not going to allow it.”

New Hampshire is a key testing ground for U.S. presidential candidates due to the state holding the first primary in the national race. Despite a rocky start to his official campaign since announcing it on Twitter in May, DeSantis is still considered the second most viable Republican candidate, according to several different polls.

Nearly all polls show DeSantis trailing behind twice-impeached former president and federally indicted candidate Donald Trump. Both candidates are expected to face elections in state primaries starting in January, leading to a final vote to determine the party candidate at the Republican National Convention in July 2024.

Crypto headlines have been a hot topic among both Democratic and Republican candidates vying for a place in the 2024 presidential election. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a Democratic party candidate polling roughly 40-50 points behind Biden, has made several pro-crypto statements in his campaign and revealed several BTC purchases. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who accepted a crypto luna classic salary for his position and helped launch the “MiamiCoin” project, announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination in June.