Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said on Sunday that Bitcoin BTC/USD may not be as harmful to the environment.
What Happened: Kennedy, who is also an environmental advocate, emphasized that the environmental argument should not be used as a pretext to limit the freedom to transact.
“Interesting argument that Bitcoin not so bad for the environment after all. At the very least, environmental argument should not be used as a smokescreen to curtail freedom to transact," he wrote on Twitter.
While concerns about Bitcoin’s environmental impact, stemming from its energy-intensive mining process, have been raised by some policymakers like Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Last week, in a Twitter Spaces interview with Melker, a crypto investor and podcaster, Kennedy Jr. expressed his support for the apex cryptocurrency.
"I bought two Bitcoin for each of my seven children," Kennedy disclosed during the interview. He made this investment shortly after speaking at the Bitcoin Conference in May. Kennedy explained, "Now I'm a Bitcoin owner, and I'm sure they'll now find a different way to come at me, but no one can say I didn't put my money where my mouth is."
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Why It Matters: However, Elon Musk might not completely agree with RFK Jr.
In 2021, Tesla suspended vehicle purchases using Bitcoin due to climate change concerns, its CEO Musk said. Tesla’s announcement in March 2021 that it would accept the cryptocurrency was met with an outcry from some environmentalists and investors.
“We are concerned about rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel,” Musk wrote. “Cryptocurrency is a good idea… but this cannot come at great cost to the environment.”
As the race for the presidency unfolds, with Americans set to cast their votes on Nov. 4, 2024, Kennedy finds himself trailing behind incumbent President Joe Biden in recent polling by a margin of over 50 points.
Price Action: At the time of writing, BTC was trading at $29,623.61, up 2.36% in the last 24 hours, according to Benzinga Pro.
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