Crypto asset manager Grayscale believes that the next President of the United States will support the development and implementation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). In a recent blog post, Grayscale argued that both Joe Biden and Donald Trump, who are currently leading in the 2024 presidential polls among their respective parties, have expressed their favorable stance towards CBDCs.
While the two candidates seem to agree on CBDC, their attitude towards Bitcoin is less enthusiastic. Trump has publicly referred to Bitcoin as a “scam” and expressed his dislike for cryptocurrencies. Similarly, Biden’s support for a 30% tax on Bitcoin mining suggests a less favorable position towards the cryptocurrency.
Grayscale did not provide further comment on Trump’s overall stance on crypto and digital assets, but noted his apparent favorability towards non-fungible tokens (NFTs). It is worth mentioning that Trump has launched and sold two NFT collections so far.
On the other hand, evidence of Biden’s general support for digital assets can be found in his “Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets.” However, the 2023 Economic Report of the President, another White House document, did not express the same level of enthusiasm towards cryptocurrencies.
There are also some crypto-friendly candidates in the running, including Robert Kennedy Jr. and Ron DeSantis, who are currently polling second in their respective parties. Kennedy recently revealed that he has purchased two Bitcoins for each of his seven children, endorsing Bitcoin during the Miami Bitcoin Conference. He referred to the cryptocurrency as an “exercise in democracy” during his well-received keynote speech at the event.
Kennedy and DeSantis have both expressed their opposition to CBDC. DeSantis even signed a bill banning CBDCs in the state and calling on other states to implement similar prohibitions. Meanwhile, there are more pro-crypto candidates among the Republican contenders, such as Vivek Ramaswamy and Republican Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, known for their vocal support of crypto technology. Suarez has been labeled as the most passionate crypto advocate among all the candidates.
