RFK JR Plans to Back the US Dollar with Bitcoin
- A recent investment disclosure showed that Kennedy has exposure to Bitcoin, leading to fears about a possible conflict of interest.
- Kennedy became one of the first US presidential candidates to accept donations in Bitcoin.
- The 69-year-old pledged to exempt Bitcoin gains from capital tax if elected president.
US presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has unveiled a series of Bitcoin-focused plans that he would implement if elected president. While speaking at a Heal-the-Divide PAC event, the Democratic candidate said he would stabilize the US dollar by backing it with assets like Bitcoin, gold, silver, and platinum.
Kennedy explained that “backing dollars and U.S. debt obligations with hard assets could help restore strength to the dollar, rein in inflation, and usher in a new era of American financial stability, peace, and prosperity.”
Sharing his vision to return the US to a hard currency standard, Kennedy said,
My plan would be to start very, very small; perhaps 1% of issued T-bills would be backed by hard currency, such as gold, silver, platinum, or bitcoin.
The 69-year-old politician also said that he would increase the amount allocated each year based on the results of the initial attempt.
Kennedy also promised to “exempt the conversion of bitcoin to the U.S. dollar from capital gains taxes.” Kennedy believes that the proposed exemption would encourage investment and motivate companies to expand their operations in the United States rather than in other crypto-friendly countries like Singapore or Switzerland.
He said,
The benefits include facilitating innovation and spurring investment, ensuring citizen privacy, and incentivizing ventures to grow their businesses and tech jobs in the United States rather than in Singapore, Switzerland, Germany, and Portugal. Non-taxable events are unreportable, and that means it will be more difficult for governments to weaponize currency against free speech, which, as many of you know, is one of my principal objectives.
The environmental lawyer also reaffirmed some of the promises he made during his address at the Bitcoin 2023 conference in May, including “defending the right of self-custody of bitcoin,” preserving “the right to run a node at home,” and supporting “industry-neutral regulation of energy.”
Kennedy’s crypto ambitions will no doubt face several hurdles. For example, Bitcoin is liable to capital gains tax since the Internal Revenue Service views it as property and an investment rather than a currency. Additionally, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been aggressively cracking down on crypto companies. However, following last week’s verdict in Ripple’s favor, the crypto industry is watching to see how the regulator will respond or if it will adjust its approaches.
Kennedy’s commitment to Bitcoin might provide a glimmer of hope to crypto faithfuls. Although the poll suggests that the 69-year-old has a long way to go in his bid for the White House, his recent remarks would no doubt add to his popularity.
Kennedy has often stated that “bitcoin is not a security and should not be regulated as one.” While speaking today, he reaffirmed his bid to “put an end to the current policies of the Biden administration that are invited by Choke Point 2.0 to punish banks that are dealing with bitcoin.”
Kennedy’s unwavering belief in Bitcoin heralds an eventual political change in perspective in which Bitcoin attains a status beyond an asset and becomes a tool that could rescue the US economy.
Interestingly, Kennedy isn’t the only pro-crypto candidate running for office. Others include Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy.
I have covered some exciting stories in my career as a journalist and find blockchain-related stories very intriguing. I believe Web3 will change the world and want everyone to be a part of it.
