Robert Kennedy Jr., the Democrat Party candidate for the U.S. presidential election and the main rival of Joe Biden, warned his followers of the looming danger that Wall Street can cause to crypto investors as large holding companies begin to enter the market.
His admission comes on the back of a recent announcement by asset management giant BlackRock. Last month, the $9 trillion fund manager applied for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), which is awaiting approval by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
BlackRock Intends to “Democratize Crypto” With Its Bitcoin ETF Offering
BlackRock’s decision was a surprise to many, as Larry Fink, the chief executive of the world’s largest asset manager and a man who once called Bitcoin “an index of money laundering”, admitted that cryptocurrencies could “revolutionize finance”.
Despite being initially skeptical of Bitcoin, the BlackRock CEO now thinks the company should embrace the asset and its underlying technology. Talking to Fox Business, Fink explained that BlackRock is making crypto “more democratized” so that it will be much cheaper for investors.
Although BlackRock’s support for Bitcoin helped initiate a mini-bull run in the market, RFK Jr. is asking investors to take the asset manager’s plans with a pinch of salt.
Speaking on ‘The Wolf Of All Street’ spaces broadcast on X – formerly Twitter, the environmental lawyer warned that Wall Street’s planned “revolution” for crypto is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Wall Street Players Could Force Investors To Use CBDCs
Kennedy said the recent flurry of spot Bitcoin ETF applications, led by BlackRock, could undermine the attempts to free people from financial control and force them to adopt digital currencies issued by central banks, also known as CBDCs.
The leading Democrat warned that as soon as the U.S. government would create a CBDC, BlackRock will convert all its ETFs from Bitcoin into the digital dollar and “trap us all in that kind of slavery”.
The son of former U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy isn’t alone in his disinterest in central bank-issued digital currencies. Republican presidential candidates Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy, both of whom are pro-Bitcoin and crypto, are also against the U.S. government releasing a CBDC.
In March, Florida Governor DeSantis signed a bill prohibiting the use of the digital dollar and other CBDCs as legal tender in the state.
RFK Jr., who is an avid supporter of Bitcoin, has made cryptocurrencies a major talking point of his presidential campaign. In May, the Democrat spoke at the 2023 Bitcoin Conference in Miami where he announced the decision to accept donations in BTC, becoming the first political campaign in U.S. history to do so.
RFK Jr. Wants To Back USD With Bitcoin and Exempt Holders From Capital Gains Tax
The vaccine safety advocate said that Bitcoin can be considered one of the hardest currencies among gold, silver, and platinum. He promised that if elected President, he would bring back the gold standard for the dollar and back 1% of U.S. Treasury bills with Bitcoin.
RFK Jr. also proposed that his administration will scrap capital gains tax on the asset but with a million-dollar cap that will help prevent large-scale investment managers like BlackRock from exploiting the tax code.
Explaining his plan, RFK Jr. said that one of the dangers he wants to avoid is creating “huge windfalls” for large holding companies. He believes this can be achieved with the million-dollar cap, which will exempt small Bitcoin investors from paying capital gains tax, while companies like BlackRock and Goldman Sachs would be liable.
8 Spot Bitcoin ETFs Awaiting SEC Approval
Since last year, BlackRock has been working with U.S.-based crypto exchange Coinbase to build its Bitcoin services. Following the asset managers suite, many Wall Street giants also joined in by offering crypto trading and holding services to their institutional clients in a “safe and secure” environment.
Currently, there are 8 spot Bitcoin ETF applications filed with the SEC: BlackRock’s iShares, ARK Invest’s Ark 21 Shares, Wise Origin by Fidelity, WisdomTree, VanEck, Valkyrie, Invesco Galaxy, and GBTC by Grayscale.
Last week, crypto fund manager Grayscale sent a letter to the SEC, asking the regulator to approve all ETF applications together so that it will be fair for investors and issuers.
The digital asset manager attempted to convert the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) fund into an ETF last June, only to be rejected by the SEC.
Grayscale then filed a lawsuit arguing that the securities regulator was treating the company unfairly by approving similar instruments by other firms and promised that it will take “any action necessary” to convert its flagship product into a full-fledged U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF.
Financial and crypto experts say that since Wall Street heavyweights like BlackRock and Fidelity are involved, it was only a matter of “when” and not “if” the SEC would approve a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund.
Once approved, the product would give mainstream investors the opportunity to get exposure to BTC and other cryptocurrencies without having to directly deal with the hassle of storing the assets or navigating through its volatile market.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $28,927 – dropping 1.6% in the last 24 hours.
Related: Billionaire M. Novogratz Says BlackRock’s Support “Game-Changing Moment” For Bitcoin
