Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made his first public appearance as a presidential candidate at the Bitcoin 2023 Conference today, sharing his own experiences with Bitcoin, warning about how technology enables government authoritarianism around the world and describing how he would protect the rights of Bitcoiners if elected president.
“As President, I will make sure that your right to hold and use Bitcoin is inviolable,” Kennedy said. “I am an ardent advocate and lifelong advocate for civil liberties and Bitcoin is the exercise and guarantee of those liberties.”
Kennedy told the crowd he was first inspired by Bitcoin as a freedom-critical technology after learning how it was used to circumvent financial restrictions during a Canadian truck driver protest last year.
“None of these legitimate, peaceful protesters broke any law…but suddenly they found they couldn’t access their money and bank accounts to pay their mortgages or feed their families,” he recalls. “When I witnessed this… devastating use of government repression, I realized for the first time how important free money is as free speech is.”
Kennedy has publicly expressed his support for Bitcoin Since May 2023, while acknowledging its separation from other cryptocurrencies and noting that lawmakers should support rather than hinder its development, as with regulations such as the Biden administration’s proposed tax on the energy used by miners. On stage, he cemented his aversion to such regulations and outlined steps his administration would take to advance bitcoin innovation in the United States.
“First, I will defend the right of self-custody of Bitcoin and other digital assets,” he said. “Second, I will defend the right to run a node at home… Third, I will advocate for energy neutral regulation of use and industrial… Fourth, I will make sure the United States remains the global hub for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies… I will eliminate growing government hostility toward these Industry “.
Finally, he said he would look closely at “whether individuals like Ross Ulbricht,” founder of the bitcoin-based site Silk Road, who was sentenced to a double life sentence in 2013, were prosecuted “for actual crimes, or as a means of cracking down on crypto.”
Kennedy added, “I will consider pardoning them and will work very quickly to do so.”
Kennedy He launched his primary campaign for the Democratic Party shortly before Pointing out support for the bitcoin industry on twitter and announcing his appearance at Bitcoin 2023. His public positions on issues such as vaccine mandates and climate change contrast those of most mainstream Democrats and have appointed himself as an outside party. As of this writing, he’s sitting in second place, though trailing by a wide margin, to Joe Biden in the national polling average.
In Bitcoin 2023, Kennedy made it clear that he does not personally invest in bitcoin and announced that his presidential campaign would be the first in history to accept donations via the Lightning Network.
He concluded, “We are now living in this age of totalitarianism…and our job is to try to build and fortify democratic institutions at the same rate.” And the biggest and most important one on the horizon is Bitcoin, because it cannot be manipulated.”