[NEWS] Bitcoin advocate Kennedy to run for president as an independent

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. officially announced on the 9th that he will run for the US presidential election to be held next year.

Kennedy is the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy and a well-known environmental lawyer. He is also known as an ardent Bitcoin supporter. He was close to incumbent President Biden in the Democratic primary polls, but withdrew from the nomination and will run for president as an independent candidate.

"I come here to declare that I am an independent candidate for president," Kennedy said in a speech in Philadelphia.

Kennedy's announcement came after weeks of speculation about his moves regarding the 2024 presidential election. Last week, American Values ​​2024, a super PAC (political action committee) supporting Kennedy's presidential campaign, conducted a poll on how the public would judge a hypothetical three-way election between Biden and former President Donald Trump. It announced that he had a 19% approval rating.

Kennedy's campaign plans to host a series of election events in Texas, Florida and Georgia in late October.

Kennedy is also known as a Bitcoin enthusiast. In a July speech, he said he wanted to exempt capital gains tax on the exchange of Bitcoin for the U.S. dollar. He also proposed backing the value of U.S. dollars and U.S. Treasury bonds with finite assets such as gold, silver, platinum and Bitcoin.

When announcing these measures, he also said, "It is the mission of my administration to make the United States a global hub for cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin."

Kennedy wrote on the balance sheet of his family trust that he holds between $100,000 (approximately 14.9 million yen) and $250,000 (approximately 37 million yen) in crypto assets.

Kennedy's investment in Bitcoin is tiny compared to his real estate, cash and other assets. However, at the Bitcoin 2023 conference held in Miami, he said, "I'm not a Bitcoin investor, and I'm not on stage to give investment advice," revealing that he supports cryptocurrencies as a pure fan.

Independent candidates who do not belong to a party have rarely received significant support in presidential elections. In 1992, Texas businessman Ross Perot became the most successful independent presidential candidate in recent years, but he ended up with 8% of the vote in the general election, and Bill Clinton ultimately won by a landslide.

While acknowledging the failure of independent candidates in the past, Kennedy said, "I see an opportunity and I'm optimistic." He also took a bullish stance, saying, "We're turning a new page in American politics. There have been independent candidates in this country before, but this time it's different. This time it's the independents who will win."

Reference:Announcement
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