Robert F. Kennedy comes to Bitcoin Miami

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the longtime candidate challenging Joe Biden for the 2024 Democratic nomination, believes the CIA played a role in the assassination of his uncle, JFK. He opposes vaccines on the grounds that they are a medical conspiracy, and he has bolstered a theory that Bill Gates wants to control us all with microchips. He’s a weirdo in other words.

But since the Kennedys family is political royalty, he’s no ordinary crackpot. Thanks to his pedigree, he has an oversized megaphone and can summon an audience that would otherwise pay no attention to him or his wacky ideas. Those audiences include crowds next week at the annual tribal gathering known as Bitcoin Miami, where Kennedy will make his first official appearance as a presidential candidate.

He was asked to speak because he is a strong advocate for crypto, recently defending the industry against the White House’s apparent attempt to use the banking crisis to try to stifle it. His stances on crypto have been correct, or at least defensible in contrast to, say, his unfounded stance on the harms of 5G and so it’s understandable that the Bitcoin crowd is rolling out the red carpet for him.

You can also argue that at a time when crypto is under attack from the most powerful people in the country, the industry needs to embrace all the political allies it can find. Meanwhile, it’s also true that polls show large majorities across the country dread the idea of ​​a 2020 election rematch, and some people would rather take a flyer on anyone else, even a kook well known, than having to choose again between a geriatric and a fascist coup facilitator.

Still, the crypto world should be careful not to embrace Kennedy too closely. That’s partly because he’s also been spurred on by some nasty far-right figures, including Steve Bannon, Alex Jones and Tucker Carlson, who are no doubt trying to foment mischief ahead of the election. But that’s also because, while crypto is looking for political torchbearers, it has much better options left and right, including Ritchie Torres (DN.Y.) and Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), who may accomplish much more for the cause.

Kennedy might think he needs the crypto vote, but he doesn’t.

Jeff John [email protected]@jeffjohnroberts

DECENTRALIZED NEWS

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Crypto miners like Hive Blockchain are repurposing some GPU cards, once used for Ethereum mining, for AI research. (Bloomberg)

European pro-crypto fintech giant Revolut is under intense scrutiny after the abrupt departure of its chief financial officer and top UK banking executive. (FT)

The Coinbase attorney has apologized for not understanding the nuances of the Pepe the Frog meme after being besieged by enraged Pepe groupies. (Fortune)

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