During an industry day at the annual Bitcoin conference in Nashville, Tennessee, Robert Kennedy Jr., an independent candidate for U.S. president, unveiled an ambitious financial policy plan that could turn the United States into the world’s largest holder of Bitcoin. The policy focuses on the strategic acquisition of Bitcoin, valued at $619 billion, to match current U.S. gold reserves. The move, according to Kennedy Jr., is intended to redefine monetary policy and strengthen fiscal discipline in the federal government.
Kennedy Jr. vs. Donald Trump
During the round table discussion with Scott Melker and Caitlyn Long, CEO of Custodia Bank, Kennedy Jr. emphasized the philosophical link between his policies and the Bitcoin community’s ideals of personal liberty, property rights, and government integrity. “It’s about more than just increasing the size of your stack,” Kennedy Jr. said, emphasizing Bitcoin’s potential to enhance sovereignty and counter what he describes as the “destructive war economy” fueled by fiat currency.
“Bitcoin is not just an exit off this inflation highway, which is a highway to hell, but a way to restore the integrity of our government. It’s a way to restore personal freedoms, it’s a way for the middle class to insulate themselves from inflation, which is just a form of government theft,” the independent candidate said.
Kennedy Jr. drew a contrast between his consistent advocacy for Bitcoin and recent outpourings of support from former President Donald Trump, who will speak at the conference on Saturday. Kennedy noted Trump’s past skepticism and his recent controversial decision to potentially appoint JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon as Treasury secretary, which Kennedy criticized as going against the ethos of draining the political “swamp.”
He added that “President Trump has also been linked to Steve Mnuchin trying to end person-to-person Bitcoin transactions,” emphasizing the need to approach Trump’s newfound enthusiasm for Bitcoin with caution.
Furthermore, Kennedy Jr. detailed his plan to gradually integrate Bitcoin with the U.S. Treasury. Starting with the issuance of Treasury bills backed by a basket of strenuous currencies — including platinum and gold — Kennedy proposed a phased approach that would begin with 1% of novel Treasury issuance backed by these strenuous assets, increasing to 100% over time.
The US would have to buy $619 billion worth of Bitcoins
“I would like to add Bitcoin to the balance sheet. I intend to do that. I intend to create a basket of hard currencies, maybe platinum and gold and other hard currencies, and start issuing at least a class of Treasury bills that are pegged to hard currency. Let’s say 1% in the first year, and then maybe 2% the next year, and see how that goes, because that will inject discipline into the product and eventually get to 100%,” Kennedy Jr. explained.
Interestingly, his strategy would involve direct purchases of Bitcoin in order to achieve a holding equivalent to the gold reserves in the U.S. “I would like to see the federal government start buying Bitcoin and eventually have an equivalent amount of Bitcoin over the course of my term as we have gold. Since Bitcoin is a fair currency, it is a proof-of-work currency,” he declared.
According to data According to Arkham, the US government currently holds 213,239 BTC worth $14.3 billion confiscated by law enforcement. This means that even if Kennedy transferred all of it to the strategic reserve, the US would have to buy significantly more BTC at current prices.
The United States currently holds the largest official gold reserves in the world, with 8,134 tons of gold valued at about $619 billion. To match that value with Bitcoin at current prices, it would take about 9.4 million BTC to buy. This acquisition would represent almost 45% of the 21 million BTC that will ever be mined.
By comparison, MicroStrategy, the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, holds 226,331 BTC, and BlackRock, the largest manager of Bitcoin-based exchange-traded funds, controls 334,000 BTC.
At the time of going to press, the BTC price was $66,976.
Featured image is from YouTube, chart is from TradingView.com
