RFK Jr wants to put US budget on blockchain

The independent presidential candidate told supporters that such a system would allow US voters to know ‘if somebody is spending $16,000 for a toilet seat’

Robert F Kennedy Jr, who is running as an Independent in the 2024 presidential race, said he wants to put the "US budget on blockchain," the technology used by Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to keep track of transactions.

“I’m going to put the entire US budget on blockchain so that any American — every American can look at every budget item in the entire budget anytime they want 24 hours a day,” Mr Kennedy said on Sunday during a rally in Michigan, The Hill reports.

While Mr Kennedy's plan would theoretically provide a greater amount of transparency to the national budget, moving the totality of the nation's spending to the blockchain would likely be a daunting task. In December 2022, the Office of Management and Budget gave federal agencies a deadline of June 2024 to fully digitise their records, as many offices still use paper documents, according to FedScoop.

The other problem with Mr Kennedy's plan is that it is a solution to a non-existent problem; the federal budget is already public, as federal spending is tracked and documented in the public record.

“We’re gonna have 300 million eyeballs on our budget, and if somebody is spending $16,000 for a toilet seat, everybody’s gonna know about it,” Mr Kennedy said.

Mr Kennedy has already stated he wants to back the US dollar with Bitcoin rather than its current fiat value, and he has accepted campaign donations in Bitcoin over the last year.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running as an independent candidate for President of the United States, said he wants to put the US budget on blockchain (EPA)

While he is a proponent of modern digital currencies, he has opposed a central bank digital currency, something that the Federal Reserve is "exploring".

A central bank digital currency, or CBDC, would essentially create a new currency, controlled by the Federal Reserve, for use in digital transactions by a nation’s citizens.

Republicans, including Donald Trump, have largely opposed a central bank digital currency, arguing it would give the government unprecedented power over and insight into Americans’ digital spending. Several nations have expressed interest and are in the process of developing or already have launched CBDCs, like the UK’s digital pound.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the bank will only create one if it is ordered to via congressional legislation.

Mr Kennedy has been praised for being "strongly supportive" of cryptocurrencies by Stand With Crypto, a nonprofit controlled by advocates and currency exchange Coinbase that advocates for "common-sense regulations" for the digital currency industry.

The same group rates Mr Trump as "supportive" and Joe Biden as "against" cryptocurrencies.

Mr Kennedy spoke at ETHDenver, a cryptocurrency conference in Denver in early March, where he likened "transactional freedom" to freedom of speech.

"Transactional freedom is as important as freedom of expression," he told the crowd, Axios reports.

He told the crowd that, if elected, he would issue executive orders preventing the establishment of a central bank digital currency, going so far as to say they threaten Americans "constitutional rights."

"I don't think there's anybody using a podium or a bully pulpit to explain to the American public how inconsistent central bank digital currencies are with our values and how threatening they are to our constitutional rights," he said.

Mr Kennedy even attempted to adopt a meme popular with cryptocurrency enthusiasts — "HODL," which is a misspelling of "hold," meaning to hold onto one's crypto assets and refuse to sell based on the belief that the price will continue to rise.

In his version of the "HODL" meme, Mr Kennedy aped Mr Biden's "Build Back Better" slogan, saying he wants to "BUIDL Back Better."