US Presidential Candidate Ron DeSantis has highlighted his grand plans for Bitcoin.
He claimed the crackdown on crypto is fueled by fear of the technology by the current administration.

United States presidential candidate and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has accused the Biden administration of engaging in a “war on Bitcoin,” promising to put an end to this battle once he is elected as president. Speaking on Monday, at a campaign event in New Hampshire the Presidential hopeful reiterated his plans to allow Americans to invest in cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin (BTC) when he eventually gets to the White House

“No one is forcing you to do it, if you want to do it, you can do it,” DeSantis chanted.

The American politician is likely referring to the recent enforcement actions that have been brought upon several cryptocurrency exchanges by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Noteworthy though is the fact that while the SEC commissioners are appointed by the sitting president, the agency operates as an independent entity from the American government.

Regulators Cracking Down on Crypto Firms Under Biden’s Administration

U.S. watchdog SEC seems to be waging a non-stop war on crypto entities operating in the country, Kraken Exchange is one of the first victims of this crackdown this year. The regulator faulted the staking operations of the exchange in the United States in February and forced the cryptocurrency trading platform to pay a $30 million fine.

Based on the lawsuit levied on the crypto firm, Kraken failed to go through the needed registration for its Staking-as-a-Service program before offering it to its customers.

On Monday, June 5, leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance was indicted by the same markets regulator for several charges. Some of the charges include the breaking of securities rules, misleading investors and regulators, mishandling customer funds, flouting Know-Your-Customer (KYC) rules, and allowing Americans to improperly open accounts and trade on its platform.

American publicly traded company Coinbase was next to receive an enforcement action from the securities watchdog. The SEC filed a lawsuit against Coinbase for operating as an unregistered broker and exchange operator, therefore, violating regulatory requirements. All of these enforcement actions have recently forced crypto firms to begin to seek solace outside the United States.

DeSantis Believes Democrats Threatened by Bitcoin?

During a Twitter space with tech billionaire Elon Musk and venture capitalist David Sacks, DeSantis suggested that the current administration may be threatened by Bitcoin as it is rumored that they plan on establishing a digital dollar.

Due to Bitcoin’s decentralized nature, it does not give any kind of control that the government intends to wield. He, therefore, believes that if Biden is re-elected as President of the U.S., Bitcoin will be under huge threat and may end up dying.

Explicitly, DeSantis’ accusation of President Biden is not without reason. The president has hardly made any direct impact on the industry apart from mandating agencies to design comprehensive regulatory frameworks for the ecosystem. His stance on crypto led to the rise of the Executive Order and the proposition of a 30 percent tax on crypto mining operations.

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Filed under: Bitcoin - @ August 2, 2023 10:23 am