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After characterizing Central Bank Digital Currencies as \u201ctyranny\u201d just last month<\/a>, Donald Trump just said at a town hall that he\u2019s\u2014at the very least\u2014aware of Bitcoin\u2019s growing popularity.<\/p>\n Fox News host Laura Ingraham asked the 77-year-old Republican front-runner about cryptocurrencies ahead of the Feb. 24 South Carolina Republican primaries, first bringing up Central Bank Digital Currencies<\/a>\u2014digital mintings of Fiat currencies\u2014while alluding to China\u2019s push for a digital currency to increase government control.<\/p>\n \u201cBut isn\u2019t the next logical step for you to embrace Bitcoin? Because obviously it\u2019s decentralized\u2014the government can\u2019t get its hands on it,\u201d Ingraham asked.<\/p>\n \u201cI like the dollar, but a lot of people are doing it, and frankly it has taken on a life of its own,\u201d Trump responded. \u201cYou probably have to do some regulation, as you know, but many people are embracing it, and more and more I\u2019m seeing people wanting to pay with Bitcoin.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump on Jan. 19 vowed to never allow a digital dollar if reelected, calling such a thing \u201ca dangerous threat to freedom,\u201d but his relationship with Web3 tech has always been a bit more complicated than that. He\u2019s reportedly had millions of dollars in a digital wallet and made millions more from licensed sales of NFTs<\/a>.<\/p>\n But rejecting a digital dollar remains a Republican talking point. In September, after the measure was reintroduced<\/a> by Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota, the House Financial Service Committee pushed forward<\/a> the CBDC Anti-Surveillance Act.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not just alarming\u2014it\u2019s downright un-American,\u201d Emmer said at the time. \u201cWe\u2019ve already seen examples of governments weaponizing their financial system against their citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n Even those more in favor of CBDCs, here or abroad, have expressed concerns over privacy. The Bank of England recently unveiled a framework to start designing a digital pound<\/a>, with the proposal outlining how the bank would maintain the ledger but all wallets would be private and all user data would be anonymized.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nLearn more about all things crypto with short, easy-to-read lesson cards. Click here for Fortune’s Crypto Crash Course<\/a>.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n