U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.) has promised to end the White House’s war on bitcoin if he is elected President of the United States. “I’m going to make sure that bitcoin is protected, that people can keep their own wallets, that the current White House war on bitcoin will be over, that transactions will be protected and encouraged,” said the presidential hopeful.
RFK Jr.’s Bitcoin Promises
U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.) discussed a variety of topics, including bitcoin, in an interview with Bitcoin Magazine, published Wednesday. RFK Jr. is a son of former U.S. Attorney General and Senator Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy.
The presidential candidate pledged that if elected as the President of the United States:
I’m going to make sure that bitcoin is protected, that people can keep their own wallets, that the current White House war on bitcoin will be over, that transactions will be protected and encouraged.
He added that he will look “ultimately at treating it [bitcoin] as a currency, rather than a commodity, particularly for smaller bitcoin owners.”
When asked about how he plans to implement his policies, Kennedy detailed: “I’m going to do everything I can without going to Congress. I’m going to do it through my control over Treasury policy.” He noted:
A lot of the bad policies towards bitcoin are not being driven by legislation — They’re driven by White House policies. So I’m going to end the war.
When asked if he is concerned about the government’s influence over bitcoin mining, RFK Jr. shared: “I’m very concerned about all the government attacks on bitcoin. What I would like to do is to provide at least some issuance of Treasury bills that are backed by hard currency, and that could be a bucket that includes bitcoin, that includes platinum, gold, silver, and other hard assets.”
Kennedy Jr. explained that his interest in bitcoin grew when he witnessed government actions during the Ottawa truckers’ strike, where peaceful protesters faced punitive measures, including bank account closures without charges or convictions. “The government used surveillance techniques to determine their identities, to determine their license plates on their cars, and then close their bank accounts and deprive them of their access to their own money, without any charges being filed, certainly without any convictions, but simply to silence them,” he described.
“At that point, I began to understand that freedom of transaction is as important as freedom of speech. I can see this trajectory towards central bank digital currencies [CBDCs], and the power that will give nations, this ultimate power over whether we live or die, ultimately,” he cautioned, elaborating:
And I understood that we need a currency that is a freedom currency, that is independent and can’t be controlled by the government.
What do you think about the promises by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. regarding bitcoin if he is elected President of the United States? Let us know in the comments section below.
