According to a report by Fortune on July 19, U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (hereinafter referred to as RFK) announced two policy proposals on Tuesday: exempting Bitcoin from capital gains tax on converting Bitcoin to U.S. dollars. ; Support the U.S. dollar through hard currencies such as Bitcoin.
An undisputed fan of Bitcoin, RFK spoke at an event hosted by the political action committee Heal the Divide and said he hopes to exempt Bitcoin from capital gains tax when converted to U.S. dollars, which would spur investment and incentivize companies to grow their operations in the United States rather than other crypto-friendly jurisdictions such as Singapore or Switzerland.
At the same time, RFK hopes to back the U.S. dollar with real limited assets such as gold, silver, platinum and Bitcoin, which will help revive the U.S. economy. “Backing the dollar and U.S. debt with hard currency can help restore dollar strength, curb inflation, and usher in a new era of U.S. financial stability, peace, and prosperity. My plan is to start small; perhaps 1% of outstanding Treasury debt will be backed by hard currency, Gold, silver, platinum or Bitcoin support,” said RFK.
RFK said the two proposals would be part of his “government’s mission” to make the United States the global center for cryptocurrencies, specifically Bitcoin.
RFK, 69, is an environmentalist and attorney and a prolific author and speaker who travels the country delivering speeches and articles calling for more positive action on environmental and social justice issues. RFK is the son of former U.S. Attorney General and New York State Senator Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of the 35th U.S. President John F. Kennedy (JFK), both of whom were assassinated in the 1960s.
Family trust holds small amount of Bitcoin
RFK is a controversial presidential candidate. Not long ago, he was not only condemned by his family but also labeled a "conspiracy theorist" and "vaccine skeptic" by the media for claiming that COVID-19 was targeting certain ethnic groups. Not only that, RFK’s many public actions in support of cryptocurrency have also been questioned as a conflict of interest.
The RFK Family Trust disclosed data as of June 30 that it had $100,000 to $250,000 in cryptocurrency on its balance sheet, with a return on investment of less than $201 as of June 30. This contradicts RFK’s previous statement at the Miami Bitcoin 2023 conference that he is not a Bitcoin investor.
In response, the RFK campaign team told CNBC that the Bitcoin investment belonged to RFK’s wife and that RFK was not involved in the investment decision. However, they later corrected it, with a campaign spokesperson explaining to Fortune magazine that “Mr. Kennedy’s investment in Bitcoin was made after his speech and before the June 30 reporting deadline and did not exist. conflict."
In fact, RFK’s Bitcoin holdings are nothing compared to the millions of dollars in real estate, cash, and other assets held by other members of the family.
RFK has been painted as a fringe candidate, with current polls showing him still trailing Biden by a wide margin in the Democratic primary.
Multiple times for cryptocurrency platforms
RFK has been sharing his libertarian views on cryptocurrencies on Twitter. He wrote in an article on May 3: “Cryptocurrencies, led by Bitcoin, and other crypto technologies are major engines of innovation. The U.S. government is making a mistake by hindering the industry and driving innovation elsewhere. Bye Den’s proposed 30% tax on cryptocurrency mining is a bad idea.”
On May 18, RFK announced his acceptance of Bitcoin donations at the Bitcoin 2023 conference in Miami, stating that he would become the first presidential candidate in the United States to accept Bitcoin donations. He also praised cryptocurrency as "a symbol of democracy and freedom." He promised that if he is successful in the election, he will ensure that the rights of American citizens to use Bitcoin are not infringed. He claims to be an advocate of home cryptocurrency mining. This is RFK's first public appearance since announcing in April that he was joining the race for the 2024 election.
On June 23, according to the New York Post, RFK said when asked about policies involving cryptocurrency, “I will ensure that we have policies that support Bitcoin and freedom of transactions, and allow individuals to manage their own Bitcoin wallets and nodes. and cryptography. I will only allow the minimal controls needed to prevent money laundering. I am opposed to central bank digital currencies (CBDC) because they are tools of control and oppression and will certainly be abused." He emphasized, "Bitcoin has always been A savior for people moving around the world, especially in Myanmar."
On June 28, RFK tweeted, "Bitcoin is not only a bulwark against totalitarianism and manipulation of the currency supply, it also points the way to a more transparent and democratic future for government institutions." Micro Strategy co-founder Michael Saylor expressed support , and commented, "The next president will be a president who supports Bitcoin." In addition, Jack Dorsey, founder of Twitter and CEO of Block Inc., also supported RFK.
RFK also criticized the SEC, saying, “I don’t want anti-cryptocurrency people in the SEC. They should be neutral at best, and there should be people from the crypto community.”
Several presidential candidates support cryptocurrency
RFK isn’t the only politician to own and support Bitcoin.
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy not only owns $300,000 worth of Bitcoin and Ethereum, but has also invested in crypto companies MoonPay and Shipyard Software. Just 2 days after RFK announced that it would accept Bitcoin donations, Ramaswamy also stated on Twitter that it would accept Bitcoin donations for its campaign, and donors will also receive exclusive NFTs.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, another Republican candidate and Trump's top rival in the party, has also expressed support for cryptocurrencies. He also promised that after being elected, he would support citizens’ rights and freedoms to buy and sell digital assets such as Bitcoin and prevent regulation from stifling the development of Bitcoin. DeSantis pointed out that the current U.S. government is obviously hostile to Bitcoin. If this situation continues for another four years, the government may eventually kill Bitcoin.
Like RFK, DeSantis is also an opponent of CBDC. He publicly stated at the end of March this year that he proposed legislation in Florida to ban the use of CBDC issued by the US government as currency to protect the safety and privacy of the people. In early May, Florida responded to DeSantis' call and banned the use of CBDC throughout the state. On July 14, DeSantis once again stated that if he was elected, he would ban CBDC.
Another Republican candidate, Francis Suarez, is also a cryptocurrency advocate. The 45-year-old current mayor of Miami has involved the city in multiple Bitcoin initiatives. He is also considering investing 1% of Miami's wealth reserves in Bitcoin and becoming the first American politician to receive his salary in major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.
It seems that there are quite a few politicians in the Republican Party who support cryptocurrency, but WEEX believes that this does not rule out that this is just a campaign strategy for politicians to fight against the Democratic Party Biden and please crypto users to win votes. Insider Intelligence predicts that by the end of 2022, the number of U.S. adults who own at least one cryptocurrency will reach 33.7 million, accounting for about 13% of the total population.
On the other hand, the current Biden administration’s suppressive attitude towards cryptocurrency is also obvious to all. As soon as Biden took office in 2021, he implemented an infrastructure bill that included a tax on cryptocurrency traders. In an economic policy speech on June 28, he said he would target crypto traders and hedge fund managers and push all billionaires to pay more taxes to fund economic growth. It also said it firmly opposes any agreement to protect wealthy tax evaders and cryptocurrency traders. In addition, Biden also hinted that he plans to exclude all digital currency companies from standard finance, making it difficult for them to obtain bank accounts, credit cards and other products. The SEC has launched intensive enforcement actions against the encryption industry.
Ironically, the Democratic Party also received more than $40 million in donations from FTX owner SBF during the 2020 election to support Biden's campaign.