Donald Trump's presidential campaign has said it will begin accepting cryptocurrency donations as part of an effort to build what it calls a "crypto army" before Election Day.
The Trump campaign launched a fundraising page that allows โany federally authorized donor the ability to donateโ to his political committees using any crypto asset accepted through the Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange.
The ad promotes his message that he is a cryptocurrency-friendly candidate and also appeals to a core group of young male voters who are increasingly likely to dabble in digital assets.
Cryptocurrencies are a digital asset that can be traded over the Internet without depending on the global banking system.
The Trump campaign is accepting a variety of popular cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ether and Dollar Coin, and also low-value coins that tend to be popular with internet personalities such as Shiba Inu Coin and Dogecoin.
Billionaire Elon Musk, in particular, is considered a fan of the latter two, which are listed on exchanges such as DOGE and SHIB.
It's unclear whether the Trump campaign will hold onto the cryptocurrency or sell it immediately, and what kind of fees it might pay to liquidate it.
While the campaign says it plans to follow US election laws, the anonymous nature of cryptocurrencies can make it difficult to confirm that the funds come from who they say they are.
Trump has already personally received millions in cryptocurrency through his Trump Digital Trading Cards non-fungible token projects and his Maga coin, launched last August.
Julia Krieger, a spokesperson for Coinbase, told the Associated Press that "cryptocurrencies are non-partisan and move money forward because they are cheaper and faster," adding that the Coinbase platform is open to all candidates this election season.
While some states do not allow cryptocurrency donations in state elections under existing campaign finance laws, the Federal Election Commission does allow committees to receive Bitcoin as a contribution.
A 2014 advisory opinion issued by the commission concluded that Bitcoin is "money or anything of value" within the meaning of the law and political committees must value the contribution based on the market value of Bitcoin at the time it is received. the contribution.
Independent candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr's presidential campaign accepts Bitcoin donations.
In conventional money, Biden and the Democratic National Committee said Monday they raised more than $51 million in April, well below the $76 million Trump and the GOP reported.
