On January 21, Ron DeSantis, an opponent of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), officially withdrew from the United States presidential race. Citing a lack of a clear path to victory, DeSantis expressed his inability to continue the campaign and thanked his supporters for their time and resources: “I can’t ask our supporters to volunteer their time and donate their resources. We don’t have a clear path to victory. Accordingly, I am today suspending my campaign.”
In a 4-minute announcement on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), he confirmed his anticipated support for former President Donald Trump, emphasising the desire among a majority of Republican primary voters to give Trump another chance.
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
– Winston Churchill pic.twitter.com/ECoR8YeiMm
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) January 21, 2024
DeSantis, who also serves as the governor of Florida, secured the second position in the Iowa primary for the Republican Party nomination on January 15, trailing Trump by a 21% margin of votes. Having launched his presidential bid in July 2023, DeSantis made headlines during his campaign by pledging to ban any potential version of the digital dollar on his first day as president.
This stance aligns with Trump’s own position on CBDCs, as articulated during a recent campaign speech in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where he vowed to “never allow” the Federal Reserve to create a central bank digital currency. Both DeSantis and Trump argue against the implementation of CBDCs, emphasising the centralised nature of these digital forms of fiat currency backed by a nation’s central bank. Unlike decentralised cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, CBDCs raise concerns about privacy infringement and excessive government control over citizens.
Despite the opposition from DeSantis and Trump, global interest in CBDCs remains high, with over 100 countries actively researching the technology and nearly 40 countries engaged in pilots or proofs-of-concept, according to Cointelegraph’s CBDC database.
