Elon Musk’s heart-to-heart exchange with Republican presidential candidate and Florida governor Ron DeSantis culminates in a focus on digital assets, also mentioning Bitcoin and the digital dollar, also mentioning Dogecoin bottom.
In a conversation between Musk and DeSantis, moderated by entrepreneur David Sachs, Didn’t make it to liftoff Over 30 minutes after the scheduled start time, hundreds of thousands of Twitter users noticed app crashes and glitched audio streams. But talks eventually started, and towards the end of the talks, Mr. DeSantis leaned into his position as an advocate for the biggest cryptocurrency coin.
Florida’s governor has portrayed support for Bitcoin as a civil liberties issue, arguing that attempts by opponents to restrict cryptocurrencies have gone too far.
“You have every right to do bitcoin,” DeSantis said. “The only reason people in Washington don’t like it is because they don’t control it.”
As the 2024 election season begins, DeSantis’ remarks echo those of Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. bitcoin predicted It was brought up last week as an example of the hatred of democracy and authoritarians.
DeSantis on Wednesday touched on the rise in regulatory enforcement actions the digital asset industry has faced so far this year, accusing governments of trying to wipe out digital assets to keep those in power in control.
“Bitcoin is a threat to them,” DeSantis said. “They’re trying to regulate it so it doesn’t exist.”
DeSantis vowed to be adamantly opposed if Congress passed new legislation to enact a ban on “bitcoin-like things.” He also said the current administration could wipe out Bitcoin if Biden is re-elected.
“The current administration is clearly targeting Bitcoin,” DeSantis said. “And if it goes on for another four years, they’re probably going to kill it.”
David Sachs noted that the political conversation is focused on cryptocurrencies, noting that Twitter has a large crypto audience. “Dogecoin has it too,” Musk interjected.
DeSantis has taken the time to build his voice on central bank digital currencies into his platform. statement made By representatives such as Tom Emmer, pursue a ban Florida is against government-backed cryptocurrencies.
A central bank digital currency (CBDC) is similar to a stablecoin-like asset that is pegged to the price of a sovereign currency such as the dollar. However, rather than being issued on public networks by private companies, they are controlled by their respective governments or central banks.
For the Fed, Chairman Jerome Powell said the CBDC:ideally” Obtain written approval from Congress. However, DeSantis said there was no room for adjustment in that regard and that it would not happen under his oversight.
DeSantis said the CBDC “must be approved by Congress.” “If I were president, I would say we are not developing a central bank digital currency.”
Underline of DeSantis his message A CBDC could be used to curb purchases that are viewed as politically unfavorable in the eyes of those who control the technology, and could promote environmental issues or discourage firearm sales. be.
“I see this as a massive transfer of power from individual consumers to central authorities. I don’t think it’s good for a free society,” he said. “I am no” [a] Central bank digital currency. ”
