Presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on May 3 condemned a 30% crypto mining tax proposed by the Biden administration and responded to considerations round crypto.
Kennedy says crypto regulation is an influence seize
Kennedy, who’s working within the 2024 U.S. presidential elections, stated in a thread on Twitter:
“Cryptocurrencies, led by Bitcoin, along with other crypto technologies are a major innovation engine … Biden’s proposed 30% tax on cryptocurrency mining is a bad idea.”
Kennedy argued that proposals for controls on cryptocurrency and crypto mining are politically motivated. He known as arguments round Bitcoin’s excessive vitality consumption a “selective pretext” to regulate threats towards elite energy constructions.
He additional argued that the United States economic system might be extra resilient if Bitcoin and plenty of different currencies can be found together with the U.S. greenback.
The Biden administration’s plan to introduce a 30% mining tax was beforehand reported on May 2. The attainable tax was additionally mentioned in a tax plan in March.
RFK Jr. argues gaming is as demanding as mining
Kennedy conceded that vitality consumption concerned in Bitcoin mining is a “concern.” However, he argued that mining makes use of roughly the identical quantity of vitality as video video games do and famous that gaming doesn’t face requires regulation.
Kennedy didn’t say the place he obtained that information. However, one attainable supply is a 2020 estimate from the mining group Braiins, which means that video gaming consumes 104.7 TWh of vitality per yr globally. By distinction, Cambridge University information means that Bitcoin mining at the moment makes use of 131.53 TWh of vitality per yr in complete.
Kennedy questions Bitcoin’s use in crime
Kennedy additionally argued that Bitcoin will not be not simply utilized by “criminals who want privacy,” opposite to some critics. He stated that political dissidents and common residents can also have a necessity to make use of Bitcoin as governments can management financial institution accounts and funds.
His assertion about crime is supported by some statistics. Data from Elliptic means that lower than 5% of all crypto transactions have been associated to crime since 2016.
However, different research counsel that 46% of Bitcoin transactions had been utilized in criminality as not too long ago as 2018. As such, the true quantity of crypto-related crime is unknown.
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