Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr has confirmed that he owns a considerable amount of Bitcoin, despite originally saying he didn’t, and attributing the crypto to his wife. However, his campaign states that this does not constitute a conflict of interest.
At Bitcoin 2023 in Miami, Kennedy praised Bitcoin and said it should be nurtured and protected, and that his campaign would accept donations in the form of Bitcoin. He also stated that he was not an investor and that his endorsement was not to be taken as investment advice.
According to a financial disclosure obtained by CNBC, Kennedy’s family holds between $100,001 and $250,000 worth of Bitcoin in a brokerage account as of June 30. The filing does not specify when the investment took place, and Kennedy’s campaign manager, Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich, said that the purchase happened after his positive remarks regarding Bitcoin in Miami.
In response to the report, Kennedy’s campaign first said the Bitcoin belonged to his wife Cheryl Hines, known for her work on the television show “Curb Your Enthusiasm”. They later clarified that the Bitcoin investment belonged to Kennedy.
On the Democratic side, Kennedy has been a strong Bitcoin proponent among candidates, while Republicans such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy have also tried to court the Bitcoin vote.
Kennedy has continued to tweet his support of crypto’s oldest coin, and said on June 27: “Bitcoin is not only a bulwark against totalitarianism and the manipulation of our money supply, it points the way toward a future in which government institutions are more transparent and more democratic.”
He has drawn support from some prominent members of the crypto community, including Block CEO Jack Dorsey, who said last month that Kennedy “can and will” beat DeSantis or Donald Trump at the ballot box. This will only be possible if he wins against President Joe Biden in the Democratic presidential primaries first. According to a poll from Echelon Insights, 65% of voters would stick with Biden, compared to 14% who would choose Kennedy.
