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- Republican presidential nominee and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has pledged support for Bitcoin and vowed to oppose attempts to regulate it out of existence, warning that if President Biden is reelected, Bitcoin could face extinction.
- DeSantis also emphatically voiced his objection to central bank digital currencies (CBDC), fearing their use could enable a massive transfer of power from individual consumers to a central authority.
A Technically Challenged Twitter Spaces Conversation
The exchange between Elon Musk and Ron DeSantis was part of a Twitter Spaces conversation that had a bumpy start due to technical glitches. Despite this, the conversation picked up and centered mainly on digital assets, with Bitcoin and the digital dollar taking the spotlight and a Dogecoin reference sprinkled in. DeSantis affirmed his support for Bitcoin, framing it as a matter of civil liberties and painting attempts to regulate crypto by his opponents as governmental overreach.
DeSantis on Bitcoin and the Threat of Government Overreach
With the 2024 election season underway, DeSantis’s stance reflects similar sentiments expressed by Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who recently commended Bitcoin as a symbol of democracy and a menace to authoritarianism. On Wednesday, DeSantis highlighted the increase in regulatory actions targeting the digital asset industry this year, accusing the government of striving to eliminate digital assets to preserve the power of those in office. He declared his intent to fiercely resist any congressional attempts to ban “things like Bitcoin” via new legislation and warned of the possible eradication of Bitcoin under a second Biden administration.
Musk, DeSantis, and the Dogecoin Phenomenon
Amid this political discussion pivoting towards crypto, David Sacks, the moderator, observed a substantial crypto audience on Twitter, with Elon Musk chiming in about the presence of a “Dogecoin audience” as well.
Opposing Central Bank Digital Currencies
DeSantis has been gradually weaving criticism against central bank digital currencies (CBDC) into his platform, aligning with views expressed by figures like Tom Emmer, and advocating for a ban on government-backed cryptocurrencies in Florida. CBDCs are similar to assets such as stablecoins, which are pegged to the price of a sovereign currency like the US dollar. However, CBDCs are managed by their respective governments or central banks, a prospect DeSantis rejects outright.
He warns that a CBDC could be used to curb politically unfavorable purchases and views it as a potential massive power shift from individual consumers to a central authority, an outcome he deems detrimental to a free society.