Pro-Bitcoin presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has officially dropped out of the 2024 race. He has chosen to endorse former President Donald Trump. This announcement sent Bitcoin's price up by over 4% in just 24 hours, pushing it past the $64,000 mark for the first time since early August.

On August 23, Kennedy announced that he would temporarily suspend his campaign. He plans to remove his name from the ballot in key swing states to support Trump. “I’m not ending my campaign; I’m just suspending it,” he explained. “Our polling showed that if I stayed on the ballot in battleground states, I would likely hand the election to the Democrats, with whom I disagree on crucial issues.”

During his campaign, Kennedy was a strong advocate for the cryptocurrency industry. He promised to issue several executive orders related to Bitcoin. This includes making Bitcoin a strategic asset for the Treasury. He also mentioned plans for the U.S. to buy 550 Bitcoin daily to build a reserve of 4 million BTC.

Alexander Grieve, an executive at Paradigm, pointed out that Kennedy’s endorsement of Trump strengthens Trump’s connection to the crypto sector. “On one side, we have Trump and RFK Jr., both of whom support crypto with specific policies. On the other side, we have vague support from the Harris campaign. The Harris team needs to step up if they want the crypto vote,” Grieve noted.

The crypto community has largely welcomed Kennedy’s decision. Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, observed that Kennedy made a smart move by endorsing Trump in battleground states while staying on the ballot in states with clear outcomes. “If Trump wins, Kennedy will likely be part of his administration. We can expect justice for the COVID policies, and the U.S. will be pro-crypto,” Hoskinson stated.

Kennedy’s endorsement seems to have boosted Trump’s chances in the election. According to Polymarket data, Trump is currently at 50%, slightly ahead of his closest rival, Harris, who stands at 49%.

However, not everyone agrees with Kennedy’s decision. Five of his siblings—Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Courtney Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy, Chris Kennedy, and Rory Kennedy—publicly condemned his endorsement of Trump. They called it a betrayal of their father’s values and have instead expressed their support for the Democratic ticket of Harris and Walz.