Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis proposes letting business pay state fees with cryptocurrencies
- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis proposed letting businesses pay state fees with crypto in his budget plan.
- He also suggested exploring ways to use blockchain technology for car titles and Medicaid payments.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis proposed letting businesses pay state fees with cryptocurrencies.
The Republican governor announced the idea in his 2022-23 budget proposal released Thursday. In his "Freedom First Budget," DeSantis suggested providing $200,000 to the state's financial services department in order to give them the ability to accept state fees from Florida corporations in cryptocurrency.
He also proposed allocating another $500,000 to exploring the use of blockchain technology to maintain and provide motor vehicle titles and to authenticate Medicaid transactions and identify potential fraud. According to a report from Fortune, DeSantis said he's hoping to make the state government "crypto friendly."
"Florida encourages cryptocurrency as a means of commerce and furthering Florida's attractiveness to businesses and economic growth," he wrote in the proposal.
Florida, and more specifically Miami, has become a crypto hub. The massive bitcoin convention this year took place in Miami, whose mayor, Francis Suarez, has since agreed to take his paycheck in crypto.
Miami is quickly becoming the Wall Street for crypto companies, as businesses like FTX, eToro, and Blockchain.com, among others, have expanded their footprint on the city. The Miami Heat's stadium was recently rebranded to FTX Arena, and Blockchain.com moved its headquarters to Miami from New York.
On top of that, a cryptocurrency called "MiamiCoin" has even been introduced in the hopes of generating enough revenue to replace income from taxes.