Bitcoin
RFK Jr. Says He Would Have Government Buy $615 Billion in Bitcoin
Amid growing rumors that President Donald Trump wants to establish a Bitcoin reserve in the U.S., rival presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he would go a huge step further.
During an interview on Wednesday, the independent candidate said he would pressure the federal government to buy Bitcoin until the size of its BTC reserves matches the country’s gold reserves.
The U.S. government is the world’s largest gold owner, boasting 8,134 tons of the precious metal. At current prices, that’s equivalent to $615 billion worth of gold. Equaling that amount in Bitcoin would require a whopping 9.4 million BTC at the current price, or nearly 45% of the total supply that will ever be mined.
“Bitcoin is an honest currency,” Kennedy he said in a conversation with Custodia Bank CEO Caitlin Long, hosted by YouTuber Scott Melker. “It’s a proof-of-work currency. Everything is on the ledger, it’s decentralized, and that’s what we need to do with democracy.”
Such a large allocation of Bitcoin would be in line with Kennedy’s idea previously announced plans to back both the currency and government debt with a basket of hard currencies, naming gold, silver, platinum and BTC as viable investments.
He expanded on those plans on Wednesday, saying a new class of U.S. Treasury bills could be “anchored” to that basket at 1% in the first year, 2% in the second year and ultimately 100% over time.
The country’s acquisition of Bitcoin, however, would only occur during Kennedy’s first four years in office.
“I would like the federal government to start buying Bitcoin and, during my term, have an equivalent amount of Bitcoin as we have in gold,” he said.
If this were to happen, the United States would easily be the world’s largest holder of BTC by today’s standards. The vaunted MicroStrategy, the world’s largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, currently holds 226,331 BTC worth $14.41 billion. BlackRock, the world’s largest Bitcoin ETF, controls 334,000 BTC worth $21.73 billion.
As BTC’s price rises, the government wouldn’t need to accumulate 9 million BTC before reaching its $615 billion benchmark — though it would certainly still make the United States one of the most dominant holders in the world. An acquisition plan of this magnitude would create an unprecedented windfall for BTC investors during Kennedy’s term.
Kennedy previously promised to eliminate capital gains taxes on BTC, which would incentivize the Bitcoin industry to remain in the United States.
“If we want to save our democracy, we need to decentralize,” Kennedy said Wednesday. “Bitcoin is honest because there is no one in charge.”
Edited by Ryan Ozawa.