Miami Mayor Francis Suarez to Accept Presidential Campaign Donations in Bitcoin

Bitcoin-friendly Miami Mayor Francis Suarez will be accepting donations in bitcoin (BTC) for his presidential campaign, he announced on CoinDesk TV on Friday.

“Officially, my campaign is accepting bitcoin,” Suarez said. “This is a process of developing technologies that are going to create democratizing opportunities for wealth creation and are not manipulated by a human being’s alternative motives,” he said.

Republican Suarez announced his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election in June, entering into a race with high-profile candidates such as Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis, who are the current front-runners in the Republican party.

The move to allow bitcoin payments for donations should come as no surprise given that the Miami Mayor has long been an advocate for digital assets, specifically bitcoin, which he believes will have a “democratizing impact on the future of wealth for every American.” He has vowed to make Miami a bitcoin hub and has also accepted his salary in bitcoin.

Suarez has already experimented with crypto assets in multiple areas, including by launching MiamiCoin (MIA) in 2021, which he planned to someday be used to pay a recurring bitcoin stimulus to Miami citizens, similar to a dividend paid out to shareholders of a company.

The crypto currency has struggled, however, with its value down about 95% since its launch. But Suarez remains highly involved in the industry and has argued that the country needs a president that understands the technologies around crypto and artificial intelligence (AI).