MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA – MAY 19: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks on stage during Bitcoin Conference 2023 … [+]
Presidential Candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr unveiled a significant announcement this week involving bitcoin. The plan included cutting taxes and to begin backing US debt with bitcoin, among other assets.
“My plan would be to start very, very small, perhaps 1% of issued T-bills would be backed by hard currency, by gold, silver platinum or bitcoin,” Kennedy said according to Bitcoin Magazine’s coverage, reported by TheStreet.
The excitement on bitcoin twitter was palpable, with some taking a more measured approach. Christian Keroles, Bitcoin Magazine General Manager honed in on Kennedy’s comments about bitcon taxes.
“Bitcoin’s tax statues in the US have been a barrier for its adoption as a currency for payment,” Keroles told me in our interview. He believes that this narrative helps legitimize bitcoin as a new form of money.
Alex Stanczyk, host of the Cafe Bitcoin Podcast joined the conversation as well. “The significance of this is not that these candidates might change the laws regarding bitcoin, the significance here is that they are talking about it at all,” Stanczyk, told me in a discussion over twitter.
An interesting development considering that three presidential candidates for 2023, from both sides of the aisle now openly support bitcoin. This is according to Gregory Gosson, of BitcoinNews.com.
“Not only is bitcoin becoming a mainstream topic of political discourse, but also a bipartisan one,” Brandon Green, head of the Bitcoin Conference told me in a discussion about the development. Kennedy, Vivek Ramaswarmy, and Mayor Francis Suarez of Miami, along with former Presidential Candidate Tulsi Gabbard all spoke at the 2023 Bitcoin Conference this year.
‘Two Republicans, and two Democrats,” Green pointed out. For a movement historically characterized as right of center, this newfound cross-aisle interest is an important development that may help facilitate greater use and adoption.
Though laws are not likely to change any time soon, I mirror Stanczyk’s sentiment. The fact that politicians are speaking positively at all is a big news, and a potential sign that voter sentiment is changing as well.
