presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr has announced that he will accept the election campaign donations in Bitcoin BTC/USD.

Speaking of At the Bitcoin 2023 conference in Miami on Friday, Kennedy said his campaign was the first in American history to accept donations.

“Our campaign will be the first presidential campaign in history to accept Bitcoin donations via the Lightning Network. And today we are one step closer to the future. Today we are showing the world the power, durability and flexibility of Bitcoin,” he said.

He added that as President, he will ensure that the public’s right to own and use Bitcoin is inviolable.

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“First, I will defend the right to self-custody of bitcoin and other digital assets. You should be able to own your private keys the same way you own the keys to your car or your wallet,” he said.

Kennedy, the nephew of President John F. Kennedy and whose father was also a candidate for the presidency, also said the administration under his leadership would not impose a 30 percent tax on electricity to encourage home use Bitcoin mining.

“I don’t think the government has any right to demand access to your bitcoin key or… any of your passwords. To say otherwise is to cede substantial territory to the surveillance state,” he said.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at $26,896, down 1 percent over the past seven days.

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