Democratic candidate for president, Robert Kennedy Jr. has two bold new policies for his eventual administration: Exempting Bitcoin (BTC) holders from capital gains tax and backing the US dollar and Treasury bills with a percentage of hard currencies like BTC.
“Bitcoin is among the most difficult currencies, and the Kennedy administration will encourage its spread and proliferation,” Kennedy said at a political action committee (PAC) event called Heal-the-Divide.
The first of Kennedy’s bold ideas, to exempt capital gains tax when Bitcoin is exchanged for US dollars, was accompanied by an acknowledgment of its downsides. “This will give windfalls to many Bitcoiners who have a lot of money,” the presidential candidate said, but added that the “benefits dwarf the downsides.”
This is an attempt to counter moves from crypto-friendly countries like Switzerland, Singapore, Germany and Portugal. He believes the tax exemption policy will encourage investment, ensure citizens’ privacy and encourage great talent to stay in the United States.
“My administration’s mission is to make America the center of cryptocurrency and especially Bitcoin,” he said.
According to the 68-year-old, it will also make it harder for governments to “weaponize currency against free speech”. He touched on the idea of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC) and that he intends to create strong barriers for them to come to fruition.
He doesn’t just have polarizing views on cryptocurrency.
Kennedy said during a Twitter Spaces event with Tesla CEO Elon Musk last month that he was “convinced” that the 2004 presidential election was stolen due to voter fraud and that mass shootings in the US have been linked to prescription drugs. He has recently come under fire for claiming that “Covid-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and Blacks. The people who are most immune are Jews and Ashkenazi Chinese.”
A White House spokesman called the claims “disgraceful” and “false”. In a June poll of voters, Emerson College found that 15% of respondents said they plan to vote for Kennedy in the primary.
Kennedy’s second Bitcoin announcement is to support the US dollar and the US. Treasury bonds with hard assets – namely gold, silver, platinum and Bitcoin. His plan, however, is to “start small,” backing 1% of Treasuries with a combination of these assets, pointing to Bitcoin as what he considers “the hardest asset in the world.”
Apart from these two bold proposals, Kennedy did not dwell on other views on the state of the American economy. In his eyes, the main threat to America is inflation and the Fed’s decision to raise interest rates, which is “wiping out poor people.” He added that he wants to see “sensible regulation” and that authorities recognize Bitcoin is not a certainty.
