Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has shared his vision to progressively back the US dollar with Bitcoin if he is elected president. RFK Jr. asserted in a speech at a Heal-the-Divide PAC event on July 19 that supporting the dollar with what he said was “hard currency,” such as gold, silver, platinum, or Bitcoin, may assist in re-stabilizing the American economy.
RFK Jr. acknowledged that the process would be gradual and would change the dollar’s backing based on how well the plan worked. For example, it could start small with 1% of T-bills issued backed by hard currency like Bitcoin, gold, platinum, or silver. In addition, he will make exemptions for BTC to USD conversions.
According to the presidential candidate, the exemption will increase investments and incentivize ventures to develop their business in the United States instead of other crypto-friendly jurisdictions like Singapore, Germany, and Switzerland. He explained further that non-taxable events are unreportable hence increasing difficulty when it comes to governments weaponizing currency against free speech, a top principal objective he values.
RFK Jr. accepting Bitcoin for political gifts
RFK Jr.’s recent comments come a few months after he attended the Miami Bitcoin 2023 conference on May 16. During his speech, he announced that he would accept Bitcoin contributions for his political campaigns. While he said that he had no BTC investments, this was debunked later.
A record obtained on July 9 later showed that he owned up to $250,000 worth of BTC. While the report did not specify when the purchase dates for the crypto, it did show that it had only earned an income of less than $201 over the investment period.
While it still is unclear why he made comments that did not reflect his investment in BTC, there were some speculations. One was that if he was to promote BTC during his campaign and his immediate family had crypto, it would be considered a conflict of interest. However, his campaign manager Kucinich denied these claims, saying there was no conflict.
In the past, RFK Jr. has been a vocal bitcoin supporter saying that the crypto, just like other cryptocurrencies, provided an escape from the financial crisis. He is one of the officials making promises related to cryptocurrencies. Ron DeSantis, a Republican presidential candidate and governor of Florida, declared on July 14 that if elected president, he would ban central bank digital currencies.
