Democratic Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has given cryptocurrencies his support, calling them “a major innovation engine.”
The 69-year-old member of the Kennedy dynasty took to Twitter to outline his views on digital assets as his campaign for the White House kicks into gear. RFK launched his primary bid on April 19 and a recent Fox News poll put his support at 19%.
Kennedy slams centralization, endorses crypto
“Cryptocurrencies, led by bitcoin, along with other crypto technologies are a major innovation engine,” Kennedy wrote on Twitter. “It is a mistake for the U.S. government to hobble the industry and drive innovation elsewhere. Biden’s proposed 30% tax on cryptocurrency mining is a bad idea.”
The latter comment refers to the President’s ambition to pass a 30% tax on the electricity used in cryptocurrency mining in the next federal budget. The so-called Digital Asset Mining Energy (DAME) excise tax doesn’t cut much muster with Kennedy, though.
“Yes, energy use is a concern (though somewhat overstated),” he acknowledged, “but bitcoin mining uses about the same as video games and no one is calling for a ban on those. The environmental argument is a selective pretext to suppress anything that threatens elite power structures. Bitcoin, for example.”
The tweet thread didn’t just tackle bitcoin energy FOMO, a common criticism levelled at the currency. The long-shot Presidential candidate was also keen to debunk the claim that digital assets are the preferred currency of criminals.
“Some advocate tight control of cryptocurrencies to prevent their use by criminals. But it isn’t just criminals who want privacy. So do dissidents and ordinary citizens,” Kennedy noted.
“Governments harass their enemies and crush dissent by controlling bank accounts and payment platforms. Until we restore trust in government (a distant prospect) we need cash and crypto to ensure freedom.”
Kennedy is not a lone voice: politicians on both sides of the aisle have voiced support for cryptocurrency. On Wednesday, Republican Representative Mike Flood of Nebraska said “Digital assets are at the heart of our digital economy’s future, but the Biden’s Administration’s response is driving innovators out of America and into the hands of international competitors.”
Just as a biodiverse ecosystem is a resilient ecosystem, so too will our economy be more resilient if it has a diverse ecology of currencies, not just a single, centrally controlled one. We are seeing today how fragile our over-centralized system is.
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) May 3, 2023
Kennedy’s tweet thread garnered 3.3 million impressions and almost 40,000 likes, with many voicing their support for the Presidential hopeful.
“Woah! RFK jumping up in my personal poll,” wrote one. “I haven’t bothered to vote for a president in years, but if this really is your stance, I’d go out of my way to vote just to show support for this,” said another.
Kennedy sets out stall for White House
In a wide-ranging interview with Freddie Sayers of UnHerd this week, Kennedy touched on many key topics – war in Ukraine, the environment, the merger of state and corporate power, and what he calls “the systematic gutting of the middle class.”
The environmental lawyer also took aim at the expenditure of the Biden government, including the recent bailout of the crypto-friendly Silicon Valley Bank and “the war in Ukraine, which is costing us $113 billion.”
With Ron DeSantis looking like the most obvious rival to Trump on the Republican side of the fence, does Kennedy have what it takes to challenge Biden?
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