Miami's 'Bitcoin Mayor' Will Challenge Donald Trump for US President

Francis X. Suarez, mayor of Miami, has filed to run for U.S. President. Known as the "Bitcoin Mayor," Suarez has previously said he wants Miami to be a global crypto hub, personally investing in crypto in the wake of the passage of the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill, and pushed to receive his government paycheck and 401k benefit plan denominated in Bitcoin.

Suarez filed as a Republican candidate today with the Federal Elections Commission, meaning he will be challenging former President Donald Trump for his party's nomination.

Suarez joins a growing list of Republican presidential hopefuls looking to court the Bitcoin vote. 

Florida Governor and candidate for the GOP nomination Ron DeSantis announced that the state would accept Bitcoin as payment from businesses for state taxes last year, although the announcement did not include individuals. Desantis also signed a bill banning Central Bank Digital Currency or CBDC in Florida in May. 

During a TwitterSpaces conversation with then Twitter CEO Elon Musk, DeSantis said the future of Bitcoin depended on current U.S. President Joe Biden not being reelected.

“The current regime, clearly, they have it out for Bitcoin,” DeSantis said. “And if it continues for another four years, they’ll probably end up killing it.”

Another Republican candidate seeking the Bitcoin vote is entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who, during the 2023 Bitcoin Conference, said Bitcoin should not be regulated as a security. 

But Republicans are not the only ones putting Bitcoin on their platform. Candidate for the Democratic Party presidential nomination Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. also appeared at the Bitcoin Conference to show his support for the digital asset, vowing to defend Bitcoin against “invasive surveillance.”

"As President," Kennedy said, "I will make sure that your right to hold and use Bitcoin is inviolable, [and] I will defend the right of self-custody."

Long-time Bitcoin advocate and former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey recently came out in support of Kennedy, sharing a video of Kennedy saying that he can beat former President Donald Trump and Governor DeSantis with the comment, "He can and will."