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Donald Trump’s campaign says it will begin accepting contributions via cryptocurrency
WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump ‘s presidential campaign announced Tuesday that it will begin accepting cryptocurrency donations as part of an effort to build what it calls a “crypto army” ahead of Election Day.
Trump’s campaign has launched a fundraising page that allows “any federally authorized donor the ability to donate” to his political committees using any crypto asset accepted through cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase.
The ad promotes Trump’s message that he is a pro-cryptocurrency candidate and also appeals to a select group of young male voters who are increasingly inclined to dabble in digital resources. It came like Trump’s the defense was based on his case of silence in New York.
Cryptocurrencies they are a digital asset that can be traded over the Internet without relying on the global banking system.
The Trump campaign is accepting a range of popular cryptocurrencies that include Bitcoin, Ether and Dollar Coin, and also include low-value coins that tend to be popular among internet personalities such as Shiba Inu Coin and Dogecoin.
Billionaire Elon Muskin particular, he is considered a fan of the latter two, traded on the DOGE and SHIB markets.
It’s unclear whether Trump’s 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 wants to follow U.S. election laws, the anonymous nature of cryptocurrencies can make it difficult to confirm that the funds are coming from who they say they are.
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Trump has already received millions in cryptocurrency personally through his Trump Digital Trading Cards non-fungible token projects and his MAGA coin, which was released last August.
Julia Krieger, a spokesperson for Coinbase, told the Associated Press that “cryptocurrencies are nonpartisan and move money forward because they are cheaper and faster,” adding that the Coinbase platform is open to all candidates this election season.
A representative for President Joe Biden’s campaign did not respond to a request from The Associated Press for comment on whether it will begin accepting cryptocurrency donations.
While some states do not allow cryptocurrency donations in state races under existing campaign finance laws, the Federal Election Commission allows committees to receive bitcoin as contributions.
A 2014 advisory opinion issued by the commission concluded that bitcoin is “money or anything of value” under the law and that political committees should value the contribution based on the market value of bitcoin at the time the contribution is received.
The presidential campaign for the independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. currently accepting bitcoin donations.
In conventional money, Biden and the Democratic National Committee he said Monday that it raised more than $51 million in April, well below the $76 million that Trump and the Republican Party reported taking in in the month.
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Associated Press reporter Ken Sweet in New York contributed to this report.