RFK Jr. touted bitcoin, but said he wasn't an investor. Financial records show otherwise

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a Democratic campaigner for president, stood astatine the world's biggest bitcoin league successful Miami successful May and told the crowd, "I americium not an capitalist and I americium not present to springiness concern advice." Then helium announced helium would beryllium accepting run donations successful bitcoin.

What Kennedy didn't archer the assemblage was that his household had invested successful bitcoin recently, according to a financial disclosure signifier helium filed June 30. On the twelfth leafage of the report, Kennedy lists a brokerage relationship that held betwixt $100,001 and $250,000 worthy of bitcoin.

The concern could correspond a struggle of involvement if Kennedy were touting bitcoin connected the run way portion his contiguous household held the cryptocurrency. according to Virginia Canter, the main morals counsel for watchdog radical Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics successful Washington.

Since the conference, Kennedy has continued to tout bitcoin.

In precocious June, helium tweeted: "Bitcoin is not lone a bulwark against totalitarianism and the manipulation of our wealth supply, it points the mode toward a aboriginal successful which authorities institutions are much transparent and much democratic." The tweet includes a video to his Miami code wherever helium describes however helium would beryllium pro-bitcoin arsenic president.

The filing says the bitcoin holding made little than $201 successful income but doesn't accidental erstwhile it was purchased. Kennedy and his household could person made the concern aft the May bitcoin conference. Nor does the filing accidental who purchased it oregon however overmuch the household whitethorn person spent connected their archetypal investment. It besides doesn't accidental whether they sold their bitcoin holding.

The bitcoin holding is listed nether a conception connected the signifier that includes assets that tin besides beryllium to spouses and babelike children. It is intended to reflect holdings from the "preceding calendar twelvemonth and existent twelvemonth to filing date," according to the Office of Government Ethics. Kennedy is joined to "Curb Your Enthusiasm" prima Cheryl Hines and has six children. Kennedy signed and filed the disclosure signifier to the Office of Government Ethics astatine the extremity of past month, according to the document.

It's apt that Kennedy himself is the sole proprietor of the bitcoin concern and the ownership is surely existent arsenic of June 30, erstwhile helium filed his disclosure, Canter told CNBC.

"Under a accepted struggle of involvement analysis, Hines' fiscal interests are imputed to him," Canter said.

"I'm truly acrophobic that he's speaking astatine this conference, touting this concern to imaginable voters portion the household has a past of owning bitcoin. It's similar helium could bash the aforesaid happening for Procter and Gamble," she added. "There's nary quality successful my caput from a conflicts perspective."

Kennedy's run did not instantly remark aft aggregate requests, including inquiries astir whether helium oregon Hines continued to put into bitcoin arsenic helium cheers connected the cryptocurrency portion moving for president. After Kennedy's quality successful May astatine the bitcoin conference, CNBC inquired whether Kennedy had immoderate crypto holdings. "Mr. Kennedy has nary crypto holdings," a spokesperson for the run said astatine the time.

Kennedy said astatine the Miami bitcoin league that if helium were to go president helium would "make definite that your close to clasp and usage bitcoin is inviolable."

President Joe Biden's medication has waged an assertive combat successful regards to cryptocurrencies. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler told CNBC successful June "we don't request much integer currency" after the SEC sued crypto speech Coinbase for allegedly acting arsenic an unregistered broker and exchange.

Bitcoin's terms has seen an upswing recently, hitting a 13-month precocious connected Thursday, contempt parts of the crypto manufacture seeing headwinds.

Kennedy's run has seized attraction from respective affluent supporters, adjacent arsenic helium remains acold down Biden successful Democratic superior polls. A Quinnipiac survey from June shows Biden with 70 % enactment among Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters, portion Kennedy nabs 17%. Kennedy, 69, is the lad of erstwhile Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and the nephew of erstwhile President John F. Kennedy, some of whom were assassinated successful the 1960s.

Kennedy's pro-bitcoin stance has aligned him with respective apical tech investors, specified arsenic billionaire and bitcoin enthusiast Jack Dorsey, with respective of them offering enactment for his statesmanlike run. Others see David Sacks, Chamath Palihapitiya and Omeed Malik.

Kennedy, who has travel nether occurrence for spreading misinformation astir vaccines astatine large, has a past of boosting bitcoin. His nonprofit, Children's Health Defense, besides has an involvement successful cryptocurrencies.

Their 2021 taxation records shows nether the "investments" conception that the radical had crypto valued astatine implicit $78,000. A spokeswoman for CHD, which reportedly played a cardinal relation successful pushing backmost on Covid vaccines and helping elevate Kennedy's illustration earlier helium ran for president, antecedently told CNBC that the cryptocurrencies listed were not "investments" but, successful fact, "donations." The CHD website shows that bitcoin is 1 of the accepted cryptocurrencies to donate toward the nonprofit group.

In April, earlier helium started moving for president, Kennedy tweeted what appeared to beryllium an endorsement of bitcoin being a instrumentality to debar impacts from a struggling U.S. economy.

"Cryptocurrencies similar Bitcoin springiness the nationalist an flight way from the splatter portion erstwhile this bubble invariably bursts," Kennedy said.

In May, days earlier helium took the signifier the Miami bitcoin conference, Kennedy tweeted: "Cryptocurrencies, led by bitcoin, on with different crypto technologies are a large innovation engine. It is simply a mistake for the U.S. authorities to hobble the manufacture and thrust innovation elsewhere."

A time aboriginal he tweeted: "Bitcoin has been a lifesaver for people's movements astir the world."