Aiming to create a "crypto army" before election day, donald trumpThe United States presidential campaign announced Tuesday that it will begin accepting donations through cryptocurrency, a digital asset that can be traded over the Internet without depending on the global banking system.
The Trump campaign has already introduced a fundraising page that allows "any federally authorized donor" to contribute to his political committees using any crypto asset backed by cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. AP reported.
The Trump campaign is currently accepting several popular cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ether US Dollar Coin, and low-value coins that tend to be popular with internet personalities such as Shiba Inu Coin and Dogecoin. In particular, billionaire Elon Musk is a fan of the latter two coins, which are traded on exchanges such as DOGE and SHIB.
It is still not clear whether the victory campaign will hold the cryptocurrency or sell it immediately, as well as what fees might be incurred during liquidation. Although the campaign aims to comply with American elections According to laws, the anonymous nature of cryptocurrencies can complicate verification of the origin of funds.
The former president of the United States has already received millions in cryptocurrency personally through his Trump Digital Trading Cards non-fungible token projects and his MAGA coin launched last August, according to AP reports.
โCryptocurrencies are non-partisan and move money forward because they are cheaper and faster. The Coinbase platform is open to all candidates this election season," said Coinbase spokesperson Julia Krieger. The Associated Press.
Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s presidential campaign also accepts bitcoin donations, while Joe BidenThe campaign team did not respond to AP asks if it also accepts contributions through cryptocurrencies.
While some states prohibit cryptocurrency donations in state elections under current campaign finance laws, the Federal Election Commission allows committees to accept bitcoin as contributions.
A 2014 advisory opinion by the commission determined that bitcoin qualifies as "money or anything of value" under the law. Political committees are recommended to value bitcoin contributions based on their market value at the time the contribution is received.
(With AP inputs)
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Posted: May 22, 2024, 07:09 am IST
