Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has promised to progressively back the United States dollar with Bitcoin (BTC) if he is elected president.
Speaking at a July 19 Heal-the-Divide PAC event, Kennedy claimed that backing the U.S. dollar with what he called “hard currency,” including gold, silver, platinum or Bitcoin, could help to re-stabilize the American economy.
“Backing dollars and U.S. debt obligations with hard assets could help restore strength back to the dollar, rein in inflation and usher in a new era of American financial stability, peace and prosperity.”
Kennedy explained the process would be gradual and that, depending on the plan’s success, he’d adjust the amount of backing for the dollar.
“My plan would be to start very, very small; perhaps 1% of issued T-bills would be backed by hard currency, by gold, silver, platinum or Bitcoin,” he said.
Additionally, Kennedy declared he would make Bitcoin to U.S. dollar conversions exempt from capital gains taxes.
In his view, the proposed exemption would spur investment and incentivize ventures to grow their business in the U.S. instead of other crypto-friendly jurisdictions such as Singapore or Switzerland.
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Kennedy’s latest round of pro-Bitcoin comments come in the wake of his appearance at Miami’s Bitcoin 2023 conference on May 19 where he announced that he would accept political campaign donations in Bitcoin.
On July 9, investment disclosures found that Kennedy owned up to $250,000 worth of Bitcoin, despite his previous statements where he denied having any exposure to the asset.
RFK Jr. is one of many presidential hopefuls to make sweeping crypto-based promises. On July 14, Republican presidential candidate and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis promised to ban central bank digital currencies if elected president.
“If I am the president, on day one, we will nix central bank digital currency. Done. Dead. Not happening in this country,” DeSantis said.
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