In a Twitter Spaces interview on Wednesday with cryptocurrency investor and podcaster Scott Melker, Mr. Kennedy described Bitcoin as the currency of freedom. He stated that he chose to become a cryptocurrency investor after being criticized by media outlets for advocating for Bitcoin without personally owning any.
Mr. Kennedy revealed, “I bought two Bitcoin for each of my seven children,” shortly after speaking at the Bitcoin Conference in May. He expressed certainty that critics would find new ways to challenge him, but affirmed that “Now I’m a Bitcoin owner, and I’m sure they’ll now find a different way to come at me, but no one can say I didn’t put my money where my mouth is.”
Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Melker also discussed how banks can terminate customer accounts without prior notice. They proposed that political influence could be behind the closure of Dr. Joseph Mercola’s bank account; the New York Times has described Dr. Mercola as “the most influential spreader of coronavirus misinformation online.”
Mr. Kennedy commented, “”Here we have a powerful banking interest that has received all kinds of federal government support and it’s utterly dependent on its on its relationship with the Fed and the federal government and it is shutting down one of its customers for political speech, I think that incident alone should be one that all of us should be terrified about, and it makes the move toward Bitcoin, all the more important.”
At the annual Bitcoin conference in Miami, Florida, Mr. Kennedy stated that COVID-19 restrictions led him to become interested in Bitcoin. He claimed to be the first presidential candidate to accept Bitcoin donations through the Lightning Network. However, at that time, Mr. Kennedy acknowledged he did not personally own any Bitcoin and was not present to provide investment recommendations.
The current price per Bitcoin is $29,330, per CoinMarketCap. During Mr. Kennedy’s speech at the Bitcoin 2023 conference, the price was approximately $27,128 per Bitcoin. If Mr. Kennedy’s claims are accurate, the Kennedy family’s Bitcoin holdings would be valued at around $400,000 today.
Earlier this month, a financial disclosure document obtained by CNBC revealed the Kennedy family held between $100,000 and $250,000 worth of Bitcoin at that time.
Mr. Kennedy’s conference speech demonstrated his strong support for so-called digital gold. He stated, “When I witnessed this cataclysm—this devastating use of government repression—I realized for the first time how free money is as important to freedom as free expression.”
Mr. Kennedy added that he believes many claims about Bitcoin’s environmental impact are unfounded. He said, “I believe that the environmental arguments against Bitcoin are a smokescreen to obscure the real motives for suppressing Bitcoin,” citing the massive costs of endless wars and environmentally harmful projects.
While Mr. Kennedy is not expected to win the Democratic Party’s nomination—online betting sites put his odds at around 11 percent—he has attracted enthusiastic support from cryptocurrency advocates. “I’m very happy for the support I’ve gotten from the Bitcoin community,” Mr. Kennedy remarked.
