By Stephanie Kelly
NASHVILLE (Reuters) – Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr Republican candidate polled on Friday Donald Trump‘s recent pro-crypto stance as the two battle for votes from crypto owners at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in November.
Trump will speak on Saturday at the conference in Nashville, Tennessee, where an estimated 20,000 people are expected to attend.
WHY IT IS IMPORTANT
Kennedy was favored by 8% of voters in a recent Reuters poll, which could be significant if he can attract voters from Trump or Kamala Harris, who are poised to become the Democratic nominee. Kennedy has yet to qualify for the ballot box in many states.
Kennedy’s comments come after Trump recently suggested to Kennedy that he might support the former president’s campaign.
IMPORTANT QUOTES
“President Trump has orange hair… But I have an orange heart,” Kennedy said in the conference address, referring to the color of the bitcoin logo. “I hope that President Trump’s commitment to bitcoin is more than political opportunism.”
Kennedy promised that if he were elected president, he would direct the U.S. Treasury to purchase enough bitcoin to build up a reserve comparable to the U.S. gold reserves. He would also make direct ownership of bitcoin tax-free.
CONTEXT
Trump recently strongly criticized Democrats’ efforts to regulate the industry and indicated he would like to see more American companies mine bitcoin, even as he called bitcoin a “scam” in 2021.
The Republican Party is increasingly trying to win the votes of crypto owners by promising less stringent regulations.
WHAT’S NEXT
Conference attendees said Friday they were looking forward to seeing Trump speak on Saturday.
At the conference, red caps with the text “Make Bitcoin Great Again” were sold, a reference to Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again.”
THE ANSWER
Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Stephanie Kelly, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)
