Democratic Presidential Candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shared his views on the idea of backing a portion of U.S. government debt with cryptocurrency.
What Happened: During a Wednesday interview with CNBC’s Brian Sullivan, Kennedy Jr. was asked whether he likes the idea of backing 10% of the government debt with cryptocurrency.
Kennedy Jr. said he supports the idea of having some attachment to a base currency as a means to enforce discipline.
“I like the idea of having some attachment to a base currency to relieve some portion of the T bills out there. I think it enforces discipline and against, you know, just printing money endlessly so and that and that individuals and governments, etc. when they buy T bills,” he said during the interview.
Will A Pro-Bitcoin Candidate Win the 2024 Presidential Elections? Ask industry experts directly at the Benzinga’s Future of Digital Assets event happening in NYC on Nov. 14, 2023. Be a part of the discussions where you won’t just be a passive spectator. Don’t let this chance slip away – secure early bird discounted tickets now!
T-bills, short for Treasury bills, are debt instruments issued by the US government to fund its operations and pay off outstanding debt.
Kennedy Jr. cited the example of his uncle, former President John F. Kennedy, who in 1963 introduced silver certificates and gold certificates as an option for base currency. "You know, my uncle did this in 1963 with silver certificates and gold certificates. He tried to return at least an option for base currency rather than fiat currency which is, you know, which has destroyed the middle class in this country.”
See More: A Stay At The Floating Palace From James Bond's ‘Octopussy
Why It Matters: Earlier in July, Kennedy Jr. detailed his plan for returning to a hard currency standard using Bitcoin BTC/USD in the United States.
In an interview with Bitcoin Magazine, he said, "My plan would be to start very, very small, perhaps 1% of issued T-bills would be backed by hard currency, by gold, silver, platinum or Bitcoin."
Price Action: At the time of writing, BTC was trading at $27,251, down 0.64% in the last 24 hours, according to Benzinga Pro.
Photo Courtesy: In The Light Photography On Shutterstock
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.
