Trump Reiterates Anti-CBDC Stance, Credits Vivek Ramaswamy for Policy Guidance

Donald Trump has doubled down on his opposition to central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) at a rally in Laconia, New Hampshire Monday Night.

“Vivek wanted this: I will never allow the creation of a Central Bank Digital Currency,” Trump said, referring to crypto-friendly candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, a critic of CBDCs, who recently suspended his campaign after a disappointing showing in Iowa.

Trump has shared the same message at prior campaign stops.

“This would be a dangerous threat to freedom, and I will stop it from coming to America,” he has previously said. “Such a currency would give a federal government, absolute control over your money. They could take your money, and you wouldn’t even know it was gone.”

Recently, Florida Governor Ron Desantis, another CBDC critic, also suspended his campaign and endorsed Trump.

“It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance,” he said in a video posted online. “I signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee, and I will honor that pledge.”

With DeSantis and Ramaswamy out of the primary, crypto might now take a back seat, CoinDesk’s Jesse Hamilton recently wrote.

Digital assets have not been a central issue in the 2024 U.S. presidential race but have kept reappearing in the spotlight as a peripheral topic by Republican candidates, but with recent candidate dropouts and Nikki Haley’s lack of focus on crypto, its prominence in discussions may further diminish.

Regardless, CoinDesk reported last year that for DeSantis’ office in Florida – as Governor, not the Republican primary candidate – CBDCs were one of the hottest topics, suggesting that voters might want to hear more.