Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Proposes Creating a Cryptocurrency Payment System for State Fees

The American politician and attorney serving as the 46th governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, announced the state’s 2022-23 budget proposal last week and proposed an idea to let businesses pay state fees with crypto assets. The governor’s “Freedom First Budget” suggests creating a department in Florida to accept state fees in cryptocurrencies.

Florida Governor’s Freedom First Budget Includes Crypto

The Republican governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis seems to be keen on allowing businesses in Florida to pay for state fees in crypto assets. Florida is becoming well known for its politicians who are positive about the digital currency economy as Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has been very vocal about supporting bitcoin. Suarez gets a portion of his salary in BTC and recently announced he plans to take a fraction of his 401k retirement plan and convert it into bitcoin.

A report published by Fortune says DeSantis has explained in recent times that he wants the Florida state government to become “crypto-friendly.” “Florida encourages cryptocurrency as a means of commerce and furthering Florida’s attractiveness to businesses and economic growth,” DeSantis wrote in Florida’s 2022-23 budget proposal.

During His Speech in Tallahassee, DeSantis Discussed Leveraging Blockchain Pilots to Bolster State-Operated Departments

DeSantis also spoke about the budget proposal in a speech on Thursday in Tallahassee. “Our view as the state government is this is something that we welcome and we want to make sure that the state government is crypto-friendly,” the Florida governor remarked. In addition to Miami’s Mayor Francis Suarez, crypto businesses like Blockchain.com, Etoro, and FTX have locations in Florida and Miami.

During his speech in Tallahassee, DeSantis also discussed blockchain technology. The Florida governor explained that the state aims to launch pilot programs that tether distributed ledger technology to state-operated entities like Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, and Medicaid payments. While DeSantis has officially launched his bid for reelection as the state’s governor, there are rumors DeSantis may run for president of the United States in 2024.