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- Republican fintech entrepreneur Michael Carbonara has liquidated 10 Bitcoin for $800,000 to help fund his congressional campaign.
- The candidate’s move to the 22nd District puts him in a new, wide-open race, which began after the map was recently redrawn.
- Carbonara leverages his technical background to advocate for on-chain accountability, from campaign finance to government budgeting.
A Republican candidate vying to represent Florida’s 22nd Congressional District has liquidated part of his personal funds Bitcoin He goes into hiding to fund his political bid, while taking a pro-crypto stance in the newly formed battleground race.
Michael Carbonara, who founded a digital banking and payments company called Ibanera in 2017, recently spun off 10 Bitcoin, exchanging $800,000 worth of the digital asset from Circle. US dollars The stablecoin this month, a company spokesman said Decryption.
The liquidation highlights how entrepreneurs associated with the cryptocurrency industry are leveraging their personal wealth to compete. Before redistricting developments reshaped the state’s congressional map weeks ago, Carbonara had drawn challengers by a narrow margin.
Among them is Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), a representative from Florida’s 25th Congressional District, who Supported Stablecoin legislation was passed last year. Before both candidates turned their campaigns toward other seats, Carbonara and Schultz received $2.52 million and $2.48 million, respectively, according to Open secrets.
Carbonara said Decryption He accepts cryptocurrency donations from outside supporters, and his campaign has diligently followed the Federal Election Commission’s rules, following in the footsteps of politicians including President Donald Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
However, Carbonara argues that the status quo surrounding campaign finance is insufficient, and that networks that support digital assets have the potential to provide real-time transparency.
Other candidates have taken similar positions this election cycle, including Mark Moran, an independent Senate candidate in Virginia who has experimented with digital assets through embracing Meme currency as a political tool.
“South Florida should care (about digital assets), because the same technology that is being weaponized against law firms by breaking up political banks could also be the tool that makes Washington’s spending visible in real time,” Carbonara said. “This is a level of professional accountability that politicians have never had to face.”
Although Carbonara is keen to gain support from digital asset owners, the FEC data He appears That his war chest has been bolstered by $2.3 million in personal loans — his recent cryptocurrency liquidation represents his latest slice of self-financing. About $50,000 came from individual contributions. He has not received any special interest money yet.
Earlier this month, the Fairshake cryptocurrency political action committee Welcome Primary victories among six political candidates favored $20 million in industry money. In a statement, Fairshake called the results “a clear victory for pro-crypto leaders.”
Beyond elections, Carbonara views blockchain technology as a way to improve clarity on behalf of the government when it comes to spending taxpayer money. Before abandoning his 2024 presidential bid, Kennedy came With the same idea.
“Blockchain technology doesn’t hide inefficiency and fraud. It exposes them,” Carbonara said. The opacity surrounding politics today comes from the old financial system, not from the technology that threatens to replace it.
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