RFK Jr is ‘happy’ about Trump’s crypto commitment

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is taking a “we’re all in this together” approach when it comes to former President Donald Trump’s sudden support for crypto. 

In a small room above the hustle and bustle of Consensus, Kennedy spoke about bitcoin, ETH ETFs and even fielded a question on whether he’d consider himself a conservative. 

For the record: He said no. Kennedy thinks he’s not “right or left” but rather “[his] positions are common sense.”

Blockworks asked what he thought about former President Donald Trump turning his support for crypto, to which he said he was “happy” about it.

Read more: Trump campaign begins accepting bitcoin, ether and other crypto donations

“I think it’s a good thing for our country. Commitment to crypto is a commitment to freedom and transparency. I’m not going to question if it was a political decision, I’m happy he did it and I hope President Biden does too,” he added. 

Kennedy said he agreed with Trump ’s pledge that he’d commute Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht if elected, noting that he’s also talked about that. However, at a later point in the press conference, Kennedy said he’d need to review the case before deciding whether to issue a pardon. 

The candidate also revealed he recently bought 21 bitcoin, including three bitcoin for each of his kids. 

He also believes that bitcoin is the “way to save the dollar.”

“My objective if elected president is that crypto is a transactional currency. That people can have transactional freedom, that people have a choice as to whether they can buy it,” he said in response to a question about the future generation and the potential crypto holds.

“I think it should be treated as a currency, we shouldn’t be taxing it as capital gains. I think there are issues in how we do that. I believe that it should be a currency used to purchase things like apples, lunches and coffee, and that people can do that.”

Read more: Peirce proposes DLT sandbox collaboration between US and UK

When it comes to our current regulatory environment, which is not very friendly towards crypto (to put it lightly), Kennedy said that the US needs transactional freedom. 

“We need sovereignty over our own wallets, transactional freedom and a currency that is transparent. We need to make sure America remains the hub of Blockchain technology. I’m going to make sure crypto currency is regulated in a way that protects the consumer from deceptive schemes. I purchased 21 bitcoin since I started this campaign. I also bought three [bitcoin] for each of my kids,” Kennedy answered. 

And the presidential candidate repeated (he initially announced this in April ) that he wants to put the federal budget on the blockchain. 

But that’s not the only use case for Kennedy. He thinks it can make the country more decentralized and encourage both entrepreneurship and innovation in the US. 

Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter .

The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.