donald trump ‘s presidential campaign announced on Tuesday that it would begin accepting donations in cryptocurrencies as part of an effort to build a so-called “crypto army” in time for Election Day.
The Trump campaign has launched a fundraising page that allows any federally recognized donor to donate to political committees using any crypto assets accepted through the Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange.
The announcement furthers Trump’s message that he is a crypto-friendly candidate and also appeals to a core group of young, crypto-friendly male voters. Increasingly likely to dabble in digital assets. It came as Trump’s The defense rested on the hush money lawsuit. In New York.
cryptocurrency It is a digital asset that can be traded over the internet without relying on the global banking system.
The Trump campaign accepts a wide range of popular cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ether, and USD coin, as well as lower-value coins such as Shiba Inu coin and Dogecoin, which tend to be popular with internet celebrities. .
billionaire Elon MuskThe most notable are believed to be the latter two fans, traded on the market as DOGE and SHIB.
It is unclear whether the Trump campaign will keep the virtual currency or sell it immediately, or what fees it will pay to convert it into cash. The campaign says it intends to follow U.S. election laws, but the anonymity of cryptocurrencies can make it difficult to verify who the money is coming from.
Trump has already personally received millions of dollars in cryptocurrency through the Trump Digital Trading Card non-fungible token project and the MAGA coin released last August.
Coinbase spokeswoman Julia Krieger told The Associated Press that “cryptocurrencies are bipartisan and move money forward because they’re cheaper and faster,” adding that the Coinbase platform is open to all candidates this election season. He added that
Representatives for President Joe Biden’s campaign did not respond to AP’s request for comment on whether the campaign will begin accepting cryptocurrency donations.
Although some states do not allow cryptocurrency donations in state elections under current campaign finance laws, the Federal Election Commission allows the commission to accept Bitcoin as donations.
2014 Advisory opinion issued by the committee It concluded that Bitcoin is “money or something of value” within the meaning of the law, and that the political committee should value donations based on the market value of Bitcoin at the time the donation was received. .
Independent presidential campaign Robert F. Kennedy Jr. We are currently accepting donations via Bitcoin.
With traditional money, biden and Democratic National Committee said on monday They raised more than $51 million in April, far short of the $76 million Trump and Republicans reported raising in the same month.
