Presidential Campaign of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

DeFi Thursday On April 19, 2023, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., nephew of former U.S. President Robert F. Kennedy, announced his candidacy for the Democratic Party in the 2024 U.S. presidential election.

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This announcement has brought a lot of commotion within the Democratic Party, since, at the moment, current President Joe Biden remains as the main name around the party for his reelection. In addition, Kennedy Jr. has been around several controversies, as during the last years he has played a role as an environmental and anti-vaccine activist; which has led him to be positioned as an extremist candidate and not well seen within the Democratic party.

His campaign has been based on being populist and at the same time “aggressive” through conventional media and social networks, which has boosted his name as a possible candidate for the presidential election. According to a survey conducted by New Hampshire, candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would have 9% support from those polled; and it seems that such support could go up in the coming months.

Position on cryptocurrencies

On May 19, the Bitcoin conference was held in Miami, in which the presidential candidate was present; first, Kennedy Jr. announced that he was not an investor in the crypto world, but later it was made clear that he has a Bitcoin investment portfolio of between USD$100,001 and USD$250,000 by the end of June.

These statements have generated controversy in social networks, since several portals speculate that it could be a “conflict of interest” or a possible influence on the price of cryptocurrency. However, the presidential candidate has shown his constant support for the crypto world, as well as criticizing the measures that have been taken against them, since they impede the growth and innovation of the industry.

Since Joe Biden came to power, a “battle” has been unleashed between U.S. government agencies and cryptocurrency investors. This smear campaign against the crypto world has generated great commotion and controversy around it, bringing with it the closure of several exchanges, as well as the fall of multiple projects and digital currencies.

It is expected that in the short term an agreement will be reached between the various governmental entities regarding the classification and legislation of cryptocurrencies, as this will provide greater confidence for investors and avoid controversies that could impede the growth of the industry.

For his part, Kennedy Jr. has sought to position himself as a pro-crypto candidate and thereby gain greater support not only within the Democratic party, but also from the electorate in general. Prior to his speech at the Bitcoin 2023 conference, he mentioned that “cryptocurrencies, led by bitcoin, along with other crypto technologies, are an important driver of innovation. It is wrong for the U.S. government to hinder the industry and drive innovation elsewhere.”

Now, secondly, during the conference he mentioned what would be the six main guidelines that he would carry out to boost the crypto world in case he became president, highlighting thus:

• Guarantee the right to own Bitcoin.
• Guarantee the right to run a node.
• Guarantee the right to use electricity.
• Ensure that the U.S. remains the global bitcoin center. 
• Recognize that bitcoin is not just a value but a class of its own. 
• Pardon Ross Ulbricht and others unfairly prosecuted as a way to attack bitcoin.

With such measures the presidential candidate seeks not only to boost the world of cryptocurrencies, but in turn this growth of the industry will generate a domino effect in the U.S. economy, thus causing a virtuous circle of the economy.

While it is true that today it seems that Joe Biden will be elected by the Democratic Party for the 2024 elections, we must not leave aside the name of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has been slowly rising in the polls and could be one of the big surprises in the coming months.