Donald Trump, the former President of the United States, is ramping up his support for cryptocurrency as part of his 2024 presidential campaign. During a fundraising event in San Francisco hosted by Craft Ventures’ general partner, David Sacks, and tech billionaire Chamath Palihapitiya, Trump boldly declared himself as the “crypto president.” He reaffirmed his commitment to the crypto industry and criticized the Democratic Party’s plans for stringent regulations.
Despite this, some experts believe that a shift in Washington’s stance on crypto is underway. Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan sees the U.S. moving towards regulatory clarity, potentially opening up the $20 trillion financial advisory industry to crypto.
Meanwhile, the industry is not sitting idly by. Crypto exchange Coinbase made a $25 million donation to the crypto-focused super PAC Fairshake for lobbying efforts ahead of the November U.S. elections. This latest contribution brings the total raised by the PAC and its affiliates this election cycle to $160 million, matching recent donations from Ripple and venture firm Andreessen Horowitz.
In other news, the Qatar Central Bank (QCB) has completed the infrastructure for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) project and launched the first phase of an experimental project. The QCB will focus on settlements of large payments among local and international banks, using distributed ledger technology and artificial intelligence to enhance liquidity and transactions with securities.
On a different note, the Spanish Agency for Data Protection has suspended Worldcoin’s operations in Spain until the end of 2024 or until the resolution of an ongoing investigation. Similarly, the data protection authority of Bavaria is also looking into the organization’s handling of personal user data, raising concerns in Spain and Germany.
In the United Arab Emirates, the Central Bank has approved a new system to oversee and license stablecoins, aiming to boost digital transactions, advance the digital economy, and promote innovation. The regulations specify that payment tokens must be backed by UAE dirhams and cannot be linked to other currencies, digital assets, or algorithms.
Overall, the landscape of cryptocurrency and digital currencies is evolving rapidly, with key players like Donald Trump, Coinbase, and central banks around the world shaping the future of finance.