“I want to promote and popularize Bitcoin among the general public,” said Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a candidate for the US presidency.
Interview and compilation: Wendy, Foresight News
US presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. attended the Consensus conference held in Austin on May 30th and had in-depth exchanges with reporters during the media Q&A session before his public speech, sharing his insights and views on cryptocurrency, debt crisis response strategies, clean energy, and more. Foresight News has summarized some of the questions and answers to convey his statements and opinions at the event. For details of the separate interview with Foresight News, click here to view the article “US Presidential Candidate Responds to Foresight News: Bought 21 Bitcoins Since Running for Office.”
Question: I would like to know your thoughts on the recent approval of an Ethereum spot ETF. Do you think this is beneficial for the government and traditional financial institutions?
Kennedy: I am very pleased about this. In any case, it’s a good thing.
Although I speculate that there may be political motives behind this decision, considering that Gary Gensler (Chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission) and the White House have been strongly against it. But it is a step in the right direction.
I applaud this. We should encourage capital to flow into altcoins and decentralized currencies as much as possible.
Question: The US is now adding $1 trillion in debt every 100 days. If we eventually reach a point where we have to print a large amount of money to save the banks, what would be your strategy? Does it include Bitcoin? How would we deal with the debt crisis?
Kennedy: First, we need to cut spending, and we need to cut it in some way. Our debt has exceeded the point where we can get out of it just by cutting spending.
We need to change the way funds are used so that they can promote economic growth. Current spending does not promote economic growth; it’s just isolated investments.
You build bombers, missiles, and then you destroy them, and that doesn’t bring economic growth. In addition, chronic diseases (government) spending is as high as $4.3 trillion, five times our military budget. This is a dead-end investment. It is actually a negative investment because it brings greater costs to our society and individuals.
We need to stop the spread of chronic diseases, and I would do that. We need to redirect this money to savings or projects that truly promote economic growth. The only way to get rid of this debt is to develop the economy, so that the debt becomes smaller in proportion.
There are opportunities, especially in blockchain technology and artificial intelligence technology, that can greatly develop our economy if we manage to keep these technologies in the United States, just like Silicon Valley.
I also propose using some funds for Bitcoin or a basket of hard currencies. In other words, issue Treasury bills, initially with only 1% of the Treasury bills composed of a basket of hard assets including Bitcoin. If this is effective, increase this proportion to 2% in the second year, and then increase it by one percentage point each year.
I believe that overnight collapse of the US dollar is not in our country’s interest. But in the long run, we need to restrain spending. The only way to do this is to use hard currencies.
The ability to print money without limit encourages politicians to engage in this behavior, and it encourages all our wars. If we really have to pay the price for war, we won’t have these endless wars.
The reason we can do this, which is very harmful to our country, is by printing money. In the end, hard currencies give us freedom. Especially Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. They liberate us. They give us the ability to achieve democracy and decentralize the economy. They allow us to carry our wealth across borders in our minds.
They put an end to the government’s ability to steal our wealth.
Question: I would like you to explain in detail your plan to put the federal budget on the blockchain, especially in terms of technical details. Which blockchain would be used in practice? What would it look like?
Kennedy: What I want to do is ensure that the federal government—the federal budget is completely transparent. Everyone can access it. One way to achieve this is to put it on the blockchain.
I want to use the blockchain in many ways to make our country more transparent, more decentralized, and give individuals sovereignty. At the same time, it also encourages the American entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem.
Question: You are the first presidential candidate to publicly support every American having a self-custody crypto wallet. What are your thoughts on decentralized exchanges and the 50 million Americans who invest in cryptocurrencies? Can they freely use decentralized exchanges like they use crypto wallets or the internet?
Kennedy: That is my goal. I believe that cryptocurrencies need regulation, especially those that claim to be decentralized but are actually centralized, because there are many opportunities for fraud and malicious behavior. Consumers need to be protected and not harmed by these actions.
Cryptocurrencies sometimes look like commodities, and sometimes they look like securities. And federal agencies currently don’t have the ability to regulate them properly. That’s what I want to do as president.
I want to promote and popularize Bitcoin among the general public, so that it can be used for transactions.
Question: How long do you think it will take for large governments to start buying Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies and see them as an advantage relative to their rivals or other superpowers?
Kennedy: I don’t know. Two or three years ago, if you had asked me when BlackRock would start buying (Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies), I would have said, I don’t know. Now BlackRock is already one of the largest holders. So, for your question, I don’t know.
I think we need a shift in government to recognize the role Bitcoin can play in saving the US dollar. It is not an enemy of the dollar. In fact, it can be used to save the dollar. I realize this. Maybe another superpower will do the same. But I don’t know.
There are some countries now officially using Bitcoin as their currency, although the level of adoption is not high. Even in El Salvador, Bitcoin transactions account for only about 1%. But I don’t think they have done it well. They haven’t thought through the regulatory process. We need to do that.
I think the adoption of cryptocurrencies will be very fast. It really depends on the inflation rate. But it is a safeguard against inflation. This opportunity should be provided to every member of the American middle class, along with all the other advantages. Workers who receive salaries should be able to convert their cash and investments into Bitcoin to hedge against inflation.
Question: Many of the technologies we discussed, from Bitcoin mining to artificial intelligence, are very energy-intensive. So, what solutions do you have for clean energy?
Kennedy: I think this industry does need to do better. But I also think that in the long run, there is an inherent incentive for Bitcoin mining to actually benefit the environment. I say this because even now, Bitcoin miners are chasing the cheapest energy because energy costs are the biggest.
85% of the cost of Bitcoin mining is energy, and the profit you get from mining depends on your ability to reduce these costs. So, they will go to places where energy is free, and they are mobile and can move anytime.
Any Bitcoin miner who buys high-cost energy, which has the greatest environmental impact, will be eliminated in the market competition because the lowest-cost energy also has the smallest environmental impact. Anyone who doesn’t take advantage of this will be eliminated in the market.
Another reason is that I spent 10 to 15 years building power plants, wind power, and solar power plants, which are intermittent power sources. If you cannot guarantee some stable sources of income, it is difficult to finance them. Bitcoin miners can go to those sites and build mining farms because there are sunny days every day, but the electron flow cannot be sold because supply exceeds demand. They can sign contracts stating that they will purchase that electricity.
They will buy all the excess electricity and use it for Bitcoin mining. This can provide an income source for those companies, and in many cases, it will enable them to finance projects that could not be funded before. This is how we transition to renewable energy.
Question: You mentioned transparency as an ideal feature of cryptocurrencies several times. What are some other features of tokens that could drive us into the next generation of cryptocurrencies?
Kennedy: I can’t tell you specific tokens, but the characteristics it should have are transparency, decentralization, and cannot be manipulated like fiat currency. If we had a base currency, except for maybe World War II and World War I, we wouldn’t be involved in all the wars. Because Americans must approve these expenses in advance, but they won’t do so.
They have to choose between their children going to school, eating, and going to war, and they won’t choose war. Now politicians can start wars because there is no cost to them. They pass the cost on to future generations by diluting our wealth through inflation. So, cryptocurrencies have this advantage, they can make governments honest. If you are in an authoritarian regime, you can carry your wealth with you.
After 1948, one million Jews were expelled from various countries in North Africa and the Middle East, and new laws stipulated that they could only leave with the wealth in their suitcases. They lost all their wealth. The same thing happened in Germany after World War II. With cryptocurrencies, this would not happen. You can keep your wealth in your mind. You don’t have to carry it with you.
So, it is a safeguard against authoritarian regimes. It also… if you try to carry $10,000 across the US border, regardless of which country you come from, the government will do one of two things: either put you in jail or steal your money and then put you in jail.
Those are your only two choices. But if you have cryptocurrencies, you can cross borders with the money in your mind and keep your wealth. It eliminates the government’s power to regulate and oppress us.
Tags:
Consensus
Gary Gensler
Others
Bitcoin
United States
Kennedy
Source link:
https://foresightnews.pro/article/detail/61394
Note: The views expressed in the BitPush News article represent only the author’s opinions and do not constitute investment advice.
Original article link: https://www.bitpush.news/articles/6827062
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