Meet The Crypto Candidate; Miami Mayoral Candidate Francis Suarez Accepts Bitcoin
Meet crypto candidates; Miami Mayor Candidate Francis Suarez Accepts Bitcoin
A recent survey conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce found that 90% of small businesses do not accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment. But one politician is bucking that trend by accepting bitcoin donations for his campaign.
Francis Suarez, mayoral candidate for Miami-Dade County, Florida, has announced that he will accept bitcoin donations to help fund his campaign. If elected, Suarez will become the first political candidate in the United States to accept cryptocurrency donations.
Suarez made the announcement Tuesday during a press conference at Miami International Airport's Marriott North hotel. He was joined by representatives from Blockchain Tech Corp., the company behind PayBitex, a recently launched crypto payment gateway platform designed specifically for merchants in Venezuela who are not access to international credit card networks due to sanctions imposed by the Trump administration on the institutional Venezuelan financial system.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission is yet to approve its first-ever Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) after rejecting several applications from different firms. The recent application from BlackRock is, however, expected to get approval due to its ETF track record.
Coinbase and other top crypto exchanges have been criticized by regulators across the world over their AML / KYC compliance processes. Just recently, Netherlands-based Bitstamp announced that it has “temporarily disabled†deposits to its accounts in Ecuador due to regulatory concerns.
The development comes shortly after Binance, as CoinJournal reported earlier this week, announced it was shutting down a Checkout-supported unit dubbed Binance Connect. The regulated buy-and-sell platform supported crypto payments for businesses.
In 2023, Chub Cay became the first island in the Bahamas to accept Bitcoin as payment for accommodations and other services. The vision that led to this was realized by David Renaud, the general manager of Alva's Island Resort (Chub Cay).
Binance Closes Deal on Malta License. Binance, the Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange that recently made headlines after a large number of users experienced issues due to having a record high amount of trading volume on one of its trading pairs, has reportedly closed a deal with the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA).
In the past decade, Bitcoin has evolved from a free software project to being one of the world's most valuable technologies. Many individuals have been instrumental in determining its development path, such as Nakamoto who originally penned the White Paper, or founders like Blockstream and Xapo who helped popularize Bitcoin adoption.
One of the biggest cryptocurrencies in terms of volume, Shiba Inu, faced a significant traffic arrest Thursday evening. The reason for this? According to the cryptocurrency developer, a scaling issue caused by an unprecedented activity in the block-chain occurred after a single tick was made within one second. It's not clear yet what led to this new record.
According to an unnamed source, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is inclined to approve several Ethereum futures ETFs. Â The SEC has been weighing several such proposals since last year.
The news comes shortly after Binance, as CoinJournal reported earlier this week, announced it was shutting down a Checkout-supported unit dubbed Binance Connect.
Chub Cay, a private island in the Bahamas, is home to the first bitcoin-based membership program. Through a partnership with HyperPay and local tech company 8Bit, the resort will accept Bitcoin for all of its amenities — including accommodations, meals and more.