Drew Wilson
Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis on Monday rolled out his campaign’s platform on regulating and rooting out fraud in the burgeoning cryptocurrency market.
“Many of our citizens rely on their investment or retirement accounts for their income and cryptocurrencies continue to grow and attract more investment from our state. I am committed to making the necessary rule and legislative changes in the 2019 legislative session to ensure we are tracking the cryptocurrency companies based in Florida and that we are regularly informing the public of any crypto scammers or lawbreakers,” said Patronis, who was appointed to the CFO job last year.
Cryptocurrencies are digital currencies not issued or backed up by any bank or government but instead rely on a decentralized network of users to log and verify transactions without oversight from a central authority. The best-known cryptocurrencies are Bitcoin and Ethereum.
If elected to a full term in November, Patronis said that he plans to push for two measures in the 2019 Legislative Session. The first would require any Florida-based cryptocurrency company to register with the Office of Financial Regulation, so their presence is tracked at the state level. The second policy would require notification of Florida citizens if any cryptocurrency scheme is uncovered or is being prosecuted, “even if the prosecution originates from another state but still involves Florida-based firms.”
In calling for those policies, Patronis cited “Operation Cryptosweep,” a massive effort by American and Canadian authorities to crackdown on cryptocurrency fraud. Per the North American Securities Administrators Association, the initiative has resulted in nearly 70 inquiries and investigations.
“This included a cease and desist letter sent from the Alabama Security Commission to a company based in Miami. According to regulators in Alabama, Platinum Coin from Miami was selling itself to investors by pitching unrealistic promises of a 320 percent return,” Patronis said.
“Further, in a recently released study by a University of Texas at Austin professor, Bitcoin prices may have artificially risen last year because of price manipulation fraud. Over half of all U.S. financial fraud victims are over the age of 70. We must bring the disinfecting light of transparency to the cryptocurrency industry in Florida by requiring those that are Florida-based to register with the Office of Financial Regulation.”
“I will lead the charge to ensure we are rooting out fraudulent actors in this industry and issuing regular consumer alerts to the public by immediately putting notifications online and alerting the media when a cryptocurrency scam has been identified. We already have a public notification system when there is an environmental spill or disaster. We must take similar measures to aggressively notify the public, and especially our seniors and others living off investment income (which could be diverted into a cryptocurrency) about any scammers as we become aware of them.”
Patronis’ cryptocurrency campaign platform follows an official release from his office earlier this month lauding the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s appointment of Valerie Szczepanik as the first cryptocurrency adviser. He also issued a separate release from his office last month warning Floridians about a massive uptick in cryptocurrency related scams.
The Panama City Republican is up against former Margate Democratic Sen. Jeremy Ring in general election. Neither candidate faces a primary election challenger.
Recent polls don’t show a consensus on which of the two candidates has the advantage four months out from the Nov. 6 election. When it comes to fundraising, however, Patronis is ahead with $3.6 million raised and $3.17 million in the bank at the beginning of June. Ring has raised about $1.1 million for his campaign, including $150,000 in loans. He started the month with $458,674 on hand.
