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CBDC-Hating, Bitcoin-Friendly Presidential Candidate Francis Suarez Drops Out of Race
Suarez previously said his campaign will accept bitcoin donations and said he would ban a central bank digital currency (CBDC), if elected.
Bitcoin-friendly Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) that he will be dropping out of the presidential race.
"While I have decided to suspend my campaign for President, my commitment to making this a better nation for every American remains," Suarez said in a tweet on Tuesday.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Suarez, who was critical of the Biden administration's handling of crypto, said previously that his campaign will be accepting bitcoin as a donation, which he called "a process of developing technologies that will create democratizing opportunities for wealth creation." He also said he would ban a central bank digital currency (CBDC), citing privacy concerns.
The former presidential candidate has experimented with the crypto technology in multiple areas, including accepting his salary in bitcoin. He also rolled out MiamiCoin (MIA) in 2021 with the hope to someday use the token to pay a recurring bitcoin stimulus to Miami citizens, similar to a dividend paid to company shareholders. However, the project struggled to gain traction and trading was eventually suspended on at least one of the crypto exchanges due to low liquidity.
Suarez, a Republican, announced his candidacy for president in June, entering a crowded race for the GOP nomination that includes front-runners former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Despite stepping out from the presidential race, Suarez said he will continue to help other Republican candidates to put forward a nominee.
"I look forward to keeping in touch with the other Republican presidential candidates and doing what I can to make sure our party puts forward a strong nominee who can inspire and unify the country, renew Americans’ trust in our institutions and in each other, and win," he concluded.
Read more: After GOP Debate, Blockchain Bettors See Ramaswamy as Most Formidable Trump Challenger
Aoyon Ashraf
Aoyon Ashraf is CoinDesk's Head of Americas. He spent almost a decade at Bloomberg covering equities, commodities and tech. Prior to that, he spent several years on the sellside, financing small-cap companies. Aoyon graduated from University of Toronto with a degree in mining engineering. He holds ETH and BTC, as well as ADA, SOL, ATOM and some other altcoins that are below CoinDesk's disclosure threshold of $1,000.
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