Robert Kennedy Jr., a U.S. presidential candidate, has backed Bitcoin ( BTC), while criticizing central bank digital currency (CBDCs), in a Twitter thread from May 5.
Kennedy claims that currency digitization already gives the government unprecedented power to monitor and control economic activity. Kennedy believes CBDCs will ‘amplify the government’s ability to suppress dissent’ by cutting off funds with just a single keystroke.
It’s not surprising that the presidential candidate has a negative view of CBDCs, given his description of them as an instrument for ‘financial tyranny and political tyranny’.
Kennedy also said Bitcoin enables people to carry out transactions without interference from the government. Kennedy described Bitcoin as a “lifesaver” for people around the globe.
The governments financial censor their political opponents
Kennedy emphasized that governments would have financially censored political opponents without CBDCs. Kennedy said that this is a common phenomenon in authoritarian countries, but Western nations like Canada also use this strategy.
Kennedy gave examples of how the Canadian Government frozen the accounts of more than 200 individuals due to their protests against vaccine mandate.
Kennedy said that this event demonstrated how the U.S. may one day freeze an individual’s account due to their political views or comments made on social media.
He added that in 2010, WikiLeaks was suspended by Visa, MasterCard, and Paypal at the US State Department’s request.
The anti-CBDC movement is on the rise
A growing number of U.S. lawmakers have taken a stance against CBDCs citing the potential for financial censorship.
Several U.S. States like North Dakotaand North Carolina have proposed laws to ban the digital national currency. Senator Ted Cruz introduced a bill that would ban the Federal Reserves issuing digital currency.
Several crypto community members have applauded the ban. However, other stakeholders have warned against it. The Bitcoin Policy Institute reported that South Dakota Governor Kristi Nomme’s decision not to sign a CBDC law affected BTC.
The Institute claims that the bill expanded Bitcoin’s definitions and protected it. It also created a legal system that recognized self-custody, as well as the protocol’s inclusion into traditional lending, commercial transactions, and insurance.