Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has taken to Twitter over the past day to express his thoughts about cryptocurrency regulation.
Kennedy recently criticized the new proposal of the Biden administration 30 percent tax On crypto-mining, this is called a “bad idea”.
“Cryptocurrencies, led by bitcoin, along with other crypto technologies, are a major innovation engine,” Kennedy tweeted Wednesday afternoon. “It is a mistake for the US government to stifle the industry and drive innovation elsewhere. Biden’s proposed 30% tax on cryptocurrency mining is a bad idea.”
Kennedy is the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy and the son of Robert F. Kennedy.
The White House Council of Economic Advisers published a blog post on Tuesday dubbed the Digital Asset Mining Energy Excise Tax, or DAME.
Under that proposal, companies would oppose a tax equivalent to 30 percent of the cost of electricity used.
The tax will be implemented next year and will gradually increase at a rate of 10 percent per year over a three-year period to reach a target rate of 30 percent by the end of 2026, according to previous cryptonews reporting,
The council argued in the post that the electricity used in crypto-mining was similar to the electricity used for all home computers or residential lighting in the country.
Kennedy compares crypto to video games
Kennedy said energy use is a concern, but argued that mining uses the same amount as video games and “no one is asking to ban them.”
“The environmental argument is a selective excuse to stifle anything that threatens elite power structures,” Kennedy said in the tweet thread.
On Tuesday, Kennedy separately tweeted a blog post that made the case that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s “war on crypto” led to the failures of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and Silvergate Bank.
Tech-focused banks began to fall back in March.