Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Says COVID Protests Led Him to Bitcoin

The liberty to transact is as necessary as freedom of expression, says Robert F. Kennedy Jr—and it was the response to the COVID-19 pandemic that introduced him to this realization.

The Democratic presidential candidate spoke in the present day in Miami at Bitcoin 2023 in his first public look as a candidate and the convention’s most anticipated occasion of the week. Almost each seat at Bitcoin 2023’s foremost “Nakamoto Stage” was stuffed forward of his keynote handle.

Kennedy’s keynote opened with a proof of how he grew to become focused on Bitcoin, saying it was Canada’s resolution to clamp down on truck drivers protesting COVID-19 restrictions by freezing financial institution accounts that drove his understanding of Bitcoin’s worth.

“Once I witnessed this cataclysm—this devastating use of presidency repression—I spotted for the primary time how free cash is as necessary to freedom as free expression,” Kennedy stated.

The candidate—who’s been an outspoken critic of vaccine mandates—stated supporting Bitcoin is each an “train and a assure” of civil liberties he’s dedicated to defending, pledging to guard crypto’s prime coin.

“Bitcoin is a bulwark in opposition to exactly this sort of authorities and company enlargement and intrusion,” Kennedy stated, referencing how the truckers have been handled. “As president, I’ll guarantee that your proper to carry and use Bitcoin is inviolable.” 

Contrasting his stance with the present U.S. president, he pointed to Biden’s proposed 30% excise tax on cryptocurrency miners, claiming it requires an “invasive surveillance equipment to observe what is going on in particular person computer systems” and units a foul precedent.

The Democratic candidate wasn’t the one one to take intention at Biden’s proposed miner tax on Friday.

The Republican Aspect

One in all Bitcoin’s greatest advocates on Capitol Hill, Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), returned once more to the Bitcoin convention stage for a fireplace chat with Chamber of Digital Commerce’s founder and CEO Perianne Boring concerning the U.S. legislative panorama surrounding Bitcoin. 

“Bitcoin is one thing that’s simply so in step with American values that we’d like to ensure it’s protected, nurtured, and allowed to innovate right here in the US,” she stated, garnering applause from convention attendees.

Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), who chairs the Home Monetary Providers Committee, was notably absent. He was set to talk alongside Lummis however couldn’t attend as a result of debt ceiling negotiations, stated Walker Van Dixhorn—one half of YouTuber duo The Crypto Couple—who launched Lummis and Boring.

“Sadly, he’s locked in a congressional session as a result of they cannot resolve the debt ceiling,” stated Walker Van Dixhorn. “So, fiat issues, I suppose.”