DeSantis Launches Presidential Campaign, Vows to Protect Bitcoin
- The current governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, announced he is joining the race for the 47th president of the U.S. during a Twitter Spaces event on Wednesday.
- During his speech DeSantis declared his support for Bitcoin and the wider crypto space, noting that if Joe Biden is re-elected “they’ll probably end up killing it”.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaking at Lynchburg, Virginia, 14 April, 2023.The Old Major/Shutterstock
The governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, announced on Wednesday that he is joining the presidential race, and promised to defend Bitcoin if he is elected as president of the United States next year.
The announcement was made on 24 May at a live Twitter Spaces event with Elon Musk, during which DeSantis announced his bid for president of the U.S. and declared his support for Bitcoin. During the one hour event, the governor of Florida noted that if he is elected president he will protect the U.S. citizen’s rights to “do things like Bitcoin”, and while he acknowledged there are risks in the crypto sector he said people should be able to make their own financial choices.
DeSantis also fired shots at the current presidential regime, saying that they clearly had it out for BTC, and that if Joe Biden is re-elected for another fours years “they’ll pobably end up killing it”. He also called the current government “central planners” who wanted control over society, and Bitcoin represented a threat to them due to its decentralized nature. DeSantis said:
“I just do not have an itch to have to control everything that people may be doing in this space, and I think the current regime, clearly, they have it out for Bitcoin, and if it continues for another four years, they’ll probably end up killing it.”
The Florida governor also pointed out that Congress “never addressed” the issue of cryptocurrencies, and that the bureaucracy — likely referring to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) — had to do it on their own. DeSantis further noted that regulating the sector should ultimately be left up to Congress, and stated that he would oppose any kind of bank should one ever be proposed.
Earlier this month, DeSantis signed a legislation that prohibits the use of federal central bank digital currency (CBDC) within the state of Florida, in addition to foreign CBDCs. The governor of Florida said the move was meant to protect consumers and businesses in the state from the “reckless adoption of a ‘centralized digital dollar’ which will stifle innovation and promote government-sanctioned surveillance”.
- The head of China’s central bank digital currency institute said the e-CNY has undergone a major upgrade, and should be made available as an option in all retail scenarios.
- The PBOC official noted that platforms can integrate the CBDC in the short term using QR codes, and focus on upgrading their payment tools in the long run.
Office building of the People’s Bank of China. Flickr
- Crypto.com has once again expanded its regulatory achievements with the acquisition of a major payment institution license for digital payment token services in Singapore.
- The license, for which the company received an in-principle approval last June, enables the exchange to provide a greater range of payment services in Singapore.
- All virtual asset service providers (VASPs) in the UAE are now required to submit a licensing application with the Securities and Commodities Authority.
- Firms that have already acquired a license in the UAE’s financial free zones will be exempted from the requirement, but those in Dubai will still need to apply with the SCA.