Democratic Presidential Candidate Kennedy Lays Out Campaign Promises for Bitcoin

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Sarah Wynn

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June 25, 2023

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Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made campaign promises on Friday advocating for bitcoin users, adding that he plans to accept campaign donations in bitcoin.

“As president, I will make sure that your right to hold and use bitcoin is inviolable,” Kennedy said at the Bitcoin 2023 Conference in Miami.

Kennedy, who is the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy and the son of Robert F. Kennedy, announced his run for US president last month. 

Kennedy has been vocal in his support for crypto, calling them a “major innovation engine.”

Campaign promises

Kennedy notably said that bitcoin is not a security and should not be regulated as one.

“Bitcoin is in a class by itself,” Kennedy said.

US Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler confirmed that everything other than bitcoin would be considered a security in an interview with the Intelligencer in February. 

Kennedy also said he would ensure that the US “remains the global hub of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.”

“I will reverse the government’s growing hostility toward this industry and keep innovation at home,” Kennedy said. 

Kennedy also said he would “carefully consider” whether people like Ross Ulbricht were “prosecuted for actual crimes or as a means to crack down on crypto.”

“If they had been unjustly made an example, I will consider pardoning them,” Kennedy said. 

Ulbricht, who was the creator and main operator of the darknet marketplace Silk Road, was handed a double life sentence in 2015. 

Kennedy also announced on Friday that he would “the first presidential campaign in history to accept bitcoin donations through the Lightning Network.”

The Lightning Network is decentralized and enables instant payments. 

Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul also said he would accept campaign contributions in bitcoin back in 2015. 

“Today, we move one step closer to the future,” Kennedy said. “Today we show the world the power and the durability and the flexibility of bitcoin.”