Although contributions in digital currency were allowed by the Federal Election Commission, political candidates note the amount of bitcoin donations is not very high.
This spring, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) approved the use of bitcoin for donations to political candidates and committees. The commissioners also set a $100 limit on bitcoin contributions per one person. However, politicians failed to turn cryptocurrency into the main fundraising strategy as the amount of donations in digital currency was too small, according to the Huffington Post in a special report on the subject.
Rather than be the result of regulatory pressures, the slow adoption rate for candidate donations appears to be because of bitcoin’s reputation for being the harbor of shady cash transactions.
That image provokes concerns among donors about the effect of their using the digital currency to donate to candidates. Candidates themselves are also aware that donations in digital currencies may be used by politicians as a simple way to circumvent campaign finance regulations: that is something that many politicians don’t want to become accused of as the issue is a hot political topic in Congressional and State politics right now.
Two candidates cited receiving donations under $100 while one House Representative said taht his campaign received donations in bitcoin totalling a little over $2,000, according to the Huff Post report.
The highest amount in donations via bitcoin appears to have gone to a Libertarian candidate, perhaps unsurprisingly. Danielle Alexandre, a Florida Libertarian candidate, received $2,500 in bitcoin donations. Still, Alexandre’s credit card donations amounted to $60,000.
Read the whole report here in full.
Polina is an undergraduate student at Belarusian State Economic University (BSEU) where she is studying at the faculty of International Business Communication for a degree specializing in Intercultural Communication. In her spare time she enjoys drawing, music and travelling.
