Introduction
Cryptocurrency campaign contributions were approved almost eight years ago. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) approved these types of contributions, but they are still a ways from becoming a popular source of campaign contributions since there are still details that need to be hammered out.
According to the FEC, only about a dozen campaign committees have received donations that involve cryptocurrency. These committees have received about one million dollars in cryptocurrency transactions.
Past and Current Political Campaigns
*1. Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), a top crypto supporter in Congress, solicits campaign contributions through Bitcoin and is pushing legislatively to create rules and guidelines for the industry.
*2. Democrat Shrina Kurani, an engineer who’s running for a House seat in California, and Republican Blake Masters, who’s vying for the Senate in Arizona, have offered NFTs as incentives for donors, to varying degrees of success.
*3. Republican Andrew Hemingway started the trend in 2014. Hemingway was introduced to bitcoin as a tech entrepreneur. At 32, he became the youngest gubernatorial candidate in New Hampshire history — and the first to accept bitcoin contributions.
*1. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-10/nfts-offered-by-candidates-as-crypto-creeps-into-u-s-politics
*2. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-10/nfts-offered-by-candidates-as-crypto-creeps-into-u-s-politics
*3. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/01/cryptocurrency-candidates-politicians-embrace-bitcoin.html
The Legal Side
Due to the growing popularity, it seems that more and more politicians will begin accepting cryptocurrency donations. It is popular, but let’s be clear about the legality of this. We look to the FEC for a clear understanding of how this works:
“Bitcoins may be received and held in a bitcoin wallet until the committee liquidates them. Holding bitcoins in a bitcoin wallet does not relieve the committee of its obligations to return or refund a bitcoin contribution that is from a prohibited source, exceeds the contributor’s contribution limit, or is otherwise not legal.
A political committee that receives a contribution in bitcoins should value that contribution based on the market value of bitcoins at the time the contribution is received.”
*https://www.fec.gov/help-candidates-and-committees/filing-reports/bitcoin-contributions/
In summary, political campaigns are allowed to accept cryptocurrency donations. The amount of the donation is equal to the value at the time of the transaction.
Campaigns cannot hold the crypto in a wallet and the contributions must follow the traditional laws that denote limits, sources, etc.
Conclusion
As the popularity and demand for accepting cryptocurrency grow, we will begin to see more political campaigns adopt a method for accepting cryptocurrency. And, if it is correctly reported to the FEC, we should be excited to see this happen as it makes for clear and transparent campaign donations.
Sanctuary DEX wallets are a great and secure way to accept cryptocurrency donations! If your organization needs a custom solution, please reach out!
We do not support or endorse any political candidates.
Author: Leah Burnette, Sanctuary DEX Technical Advisor