US presidential candidate Robert Kennedy says FedNow is first step towards banning Bitcoin
Robert Kennedy Jr. – a US presidential candidate – believes the Federal Reserve’s digital payment system “FedNow” is the government’s first step towards banning Bitcoin (BTC).
According to Kennedy, people should not be fooled by claims that FedNow would initially be limited to interbank transactions. He pointed out that this could be “the first step in banning and confiscating bitcoin as the Treasury did with gold 90 years ago today in 1933.”
The Fed announced that the FedNow payment system will be launched in July. The payment system is designed to allow bill payments, money transfers and other activities to proceed faster and at a lower cost.
Several crypto stakeholders have pointed out that this move could be the authorities’ way of competing against the industry.
Meanwhile, the US government’s recent crackdown on the crypto industry has been described as “operational choke point 2.0.” Law firm Cooper & Kirk said the “backroom war on crypto” was illegal, unconstitutional and arbitrary.
Kennedy highlights the dangers of CBDCs
The Democrat equated FedNow to a central bank digital currency (CBDC), and highlighted several dangers it portends for American citizens.
According to Kennedy Jr. CBDCs smooth the slippery slope to economic slavery and political tyranny. He noted that the government could use this digital currency to “monitor all of our private financial affairs.”
“The central bank will have the power to enforce dollar limits on our transactions that limit where you can send money, where you can spend it and when the money expires.”
He explained that the digital currency could give the government the power to freeze citizens’ assets or even limit their spending when they fail to “comply with arbitrary dictates.”
The presidential candidate added:
“Watch how governments, never one to let a good crisis go to waste, are using Covid-19 and the banking crisis to usher in a new wave of CBDCs as a safe haven from germ-laden paper currencies or as protection against bank runs.”
Kennedy is a nephew of President John F. Kennedy and the son of United States Attorney General and New York Senator Robert F. Kennedy.
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