US presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced his decision to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race and endorse former President Donald Trump during a press conference in Arizona on Aug. 23.

The announcement, combined with Fed chair Jerome Powell’s bullish speech earlier in the day, caused Bitcoin (BTC) to surge 2.5% in the past hour and retake the $63,500 price level.

The flagship crypto was trading at $63,750 as of press time, up almost 6% over the last 24 hours, based on CryptoSlate data.

Endorsing Trump

RFK said he has decided to endorse Trump because he supports free speech, the children, and ending the war in Ukraine. Notably, the two are also aligned in their support for Bitcoin and the digital asset industry.

RFK said during that he recently met Trump and his family in Florida, where they agreed to join forces. RFK also revealed that he made attempts to reach Vice President Kamala Harris, but she refused to meet him.

RFK said his campaign would not end but would be suspended in key jurisdictions. The speech came a few minutes after his campaign declared in a filing with the Pennsylvania court that he was endorsing Trump.

Kennedy has requested to be removed from the Pennsylvania ballot following his withdrawal from the Arizona ballot on Aug. 22.

Despite withdrawing from the race, RFK Jr. remains on the ballot in several red and blue states. His strategy hinges on the possibility of a contingent election, which could occur if neither major party candidate, specifically Harris or Trump, secures the necessary 270 electoral votes, resulting in a 269-269 tie.

In such a scenario, the election would be decided by the House of Representatives, where RFK Jr. could theoretically position himself as a compromise candidate, potentially leading to an unexpected path to the White House.

Markets continue positive momentum

Bitcoin’s significant surge was mirrored by other major cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL). ETH climbed 1.8% in a few minutes after the Pennsylvania filing became public, reclaiming the $2,700 area, while SOL is nearing the $150 after a 2.6% surge.

The news also sustained the momentum in the US equities market, as the S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow Jones are up by 1%, 1.3%, and 1%, respectively.

However, the Polygon-based prediction market Polymarket has yet to show a positive shift toward Trump’s odds of winning the elections. At the time of writing, Kamala Harris’ odds are at 49% after climbing 2% on the day, while Trump’s have called to 50%.

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