Environmental lawyer and 2024 Democratic Occasion (DP) presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.) has introduced that he shall be accepting marketing campaign donations in bitcoin (BTC). This makes it the primary presidential marketing campaign in US historical past to just accept bitcoin donations.
Kennedy made the announcement whereas talking on the Bitcoin 2023 convention in Miami. The event was additionally his first public look as a presidential candidate.
Bitcoin workouts in democracy
Kennedy harassed the connection between bitcoin and the pillars of democracy and freedom through the convention. If elected, he vowed to “be sure that america stays a world bitcoin hub.”
Earlier than delivering his keynote speech, Kennedy expressed his perception that individuals love bitcoin a lot “not simply because it’s a forex, however as a result of it’s an train in democracy.”
The 69-year-old presidential candidate informed the group he grew to become fascinated about bitcoin after listening to about the way it was getting used to bypass monetary restrictions through the 2022 Canadian truckers’ strike, calling bitcoin a “image of democracy and freedom”.
He known as on the crypto neighborhood to help him as he campaigns for politics in 2024. Nonetheless, he warned that advances in know-how permit dictatorial rule. Nonetheless, if elected, he vowed to guard the pursuits of the crypto business.
The Democratic candidate working towards incumbent Joe Biden has additionally tweeted about his libertarian views on bitcoin. In a current publish, he alleged that america was hindering crypto companies and forcing “innovation elsewhere.”
Crypto has a historical past of marketing campaign donations
Kennedy’s presence on the bitcoin occasion was meant to draw new voters and lift thousands and thousands of {dollars} in donations.
Throughout final 12 months’s midterm elections, crypto firms and their CEOs confirmed extraordinary generosity, with FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried donating round $40 million to Republican and Democratic candidates.
Kennedy acknowledged that his marketing campaign would settle for donations despatched by the Lightning Community though he didn’t personally personal the bitcoins.
The politician’s choice to just accept bitcoin donations for his presidential marketing campaign comes as bitcoin and the broader crypto sector have attracted extra consideration from regulators and lawmakers within the US, who’re debating the way to classify and regulate it.
Some politicians, similar to Senator Cynthia Lummis and Consultant Warren Davidson, have endorsed bitcoin and advocated a lightweight contact method.
Others, similar to Senator Elizabeth Warren and Securities and Alternate Fee (SEC) chairman Gary Gensler, have raised considerations about its environmental impression, client safety and market integrity.