Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has promised that if elected, he’ll signal an govt order on his first day in workplace designating Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset of the US.
Kennedy spoke to attendees on the Bitcoin 2024 convention on July 26, outlining his imaginative and prescient for Bitcoin to play a key function in strengthening America's financial stability and strategic place. This was his second time attending the occasion, making him one of many longest-standing advocates of the flagship cryptocurrency amongst U.S. political leaders.
Along with constructing a major Bitcoin reserve, Kennedy has pledged to difficulty an govt order making Bitcoin-to-US Greenback transactions non-reportable and tax-free, and he additionally plans to permit Bitcoin as a qualifying asset for 1031 exchanges into actual property.
Strategic Reserve
Kennedy stated that on the primary day the chief order goes into impact, he’ll instruct the Division of Justice and U.S. Marshals to switch roughly 200,000 bitcoin at the moment held by the U.S. authorities to the Treasury Division as strategic property.
He may also instruct the Treasury Division to buy 550 Bitcoin per day till the U.S. has collected a reserve of 4 million Bitcoin, which represents just below 20% of the overall provide.
“This coverage would give our nation roughly the identical share of Bitcoin because the world's gold reserves.”
Kennedy's plan additionally contains backing U.S. Treasury bonds with actual property equivalent to Bitcoin as a way to stabilize the U.S. greenback and preserve inflation in test. He believes that Bitcoin's shortage and liquidity, together with gold and different actual property, can restore the U.S. greenback's dominance in world finance.
He additionally criticized the Federal Reserve's financial insurance policies for contributing to wealth inequality and financial instability. He argued that backing the US greenback with Bitcoin or different actual property would act as a hedge in opposition to inflation and strengthen the worth of the US greenback.
Kennedy additionally addressed the worldwide implications of present U.S. financial coverage, noting that the weaponization of the greenback in opposition to different international locations, equivalent to by excluding them from the SWIFT system, is accelerating efforts by international locations such because the BRICS nations to de-dollarize.
He warned that if the US doesn’t transfer to a extra sustainable monetary technique backed by actual property, it dangers dropping its financial management and the greenback's standing as a reserve forex.
Corruption's “greatest enemy”
Kennedy additionally emphasised Bitcoin's function in defending particular person freedoms. He spoke about how the Canadian truck drivers' protests and the freezing of their monetary property influenced his advocacy for Bitcoin and made him understand the significance of financial freedom.
He stated:
“I noticed that freedom of commerce is simply as essential because the First Modification's freedom of expression.”
He additionally highlighted Bitcoin's potential to guard particular person freedoms, promote accountability, and struggle authorities corruption, stating:
“Bitcoin is anti-war. It’s a fierce, relentless, and invincible enemy of presidency corruption.”
Kennedy's plan additionally contains backing U.S. Treasury bonds with arduous property equivalent to Bitcoin as a way to stabilize the US greenback and tame inflation: “My proposed technique would leverage the shortage and liquidity of Bitcoin, together with gold and different arduous property, to revive the US greenback's dominance in world finance.”
Political assist
Kennedy expressed optimism about rising political assist for Bitcoin and goals to place the US as a worldwide hub for cryptocurrency innovation and funding. He additionally acknowledged that former President Donald Trump has not too long ago been a vocal supporter of Bitcoin, saying the rising curiosity amongst political leaders is an effective factor.
Kennedy revealed that Trump might announce plans to construct a “Bitcoin Fort Knox” in an upcoming speech on the convention and authorize the U.S. authorities to buy 1 million Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset.
Kennedy expressed assist for the potential transfer, hoping that President Trump's dedication to Bitcoin goes past “political expediency.” He famous that essentially the most cynical political cause to assist Bitcoin is to excite the 60 million American bitcoin holders with insurance policies that may enhance the worth of the cryptocurrency.
However Kennedy hopes that President Trump and different political leaders will develop a deeper understanding of bitcoin's potential to maintain the U.S. monetary system secure and safe from cyber threats.
