How Kennedy Jr’s Dip From the Presidential Race Could Raise Crypto’s Profile in Washington

The running mate of independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Tuesday they are considering withdrawing from the race in a bid to help bolster the campaign of former president Donald Trump.

It shows a growing concern among political elites that Trump could lose in November. Kennedy has been one of crypto’s most vocal advocates in recent months.

The son of Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of former president John F. Kennedy announced back in July he would make the government buy $615 billion in Bitcoin should he win his bid for the White House.

In dropping his campaign, the pair will likely endorse Trump, as Kennedy’s VP pick, Nicole Shanahan, explained in an hour-long interview with Impact Theory’s Tom Bilyeu. 

Shanahan acknowledged a strong preference for Trump within the campaign, saying that Kennedy remaining in the race would draw votes away from the former president and “risk” a Kamala Harris presidency. Trump is seen as the more “crypto-friendly” of the two major political party candidates. 

In her interview, Shanahan hit out at the Democratic party, arguing it was too interested in controlling fiat currency and that the regulations it would bring to crypto would be harmful.

“Elizabeth Warren is the poster child for regulating Bitcoin,” Shanahan said. “It’s about control. The federal government needs to let go of some of the control it has enjoyed for decades over fiat currency. 

Shanahan added a new generation of leaders who have faith in private markets needed to be elected to “self-correct” the U.S.’s path away from subsidisation hindering economic growth.

“We do not have that kind of leadership,” she said.

Shanahan’s comments echo the broader sentiment regarding the election and crypto. Earlier this week, Bernstein Research noted the crypto market “interprets only a Republican win as a positive for crypto policy.” That has been a sore point among many crypto die hards pushing for a Trump presidency.

A separate Bernstein report this month found a slump in Bitcoin’s price could be tied to the Harris campaign overtaking Trump in the polls for the first time. That has been reflected in crypto punters betting on a Harris victory via Polymarket which saw her odds shoot up earlier this month.

Kennedy selected Shanahan to be his running mate in March of this year. She has been a registered Democrat and contributed to the Democratic party in the past—including donating $25,000 to the Biden Victory Fund, before leaving the party to join Kennedy’s campaign.

Kennedy had been polling at around 5% but has since seen his numbers drop to 3%. Trump’s polling, meanwhile, has remained consistent in recent months at 43%, while Harris has seen her polling lift close to 50%.

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair