In recent months, it has been announced that several political candidates, most notably in the United States, but also in other planet’s locations, are accepting donations in the form of cryptocurrencies, in an attempt to help fund campaigns for specific positions. That in addition to other, more traditional contributions.
However, not everybody seems to be on board with the strategy. This week, a group of Democratic Minnesota House Representatives expressed their opinion about cryptocurrencies and made it clear that they do not like when these assets become involved in political donations.
The Representatives behind the Initiative
Rep. Rick Hansen (D), Rep. Jamie Becker-finn (D), Rep. Raymond Dehn (D), and Rep. Peter Fischer (D) were the ones that introduced the Minnesota House Bill 2884, this is, the legal document in question.
The bill is looking to outlaw “from any source a contribution or donation of any digital unit of exchange, including but not limited to bitcoin, that is not backed by a government-issued legal tender.”
The thing to look for in this case would be where precisely stablecoins fall in the classification of assets, since they are essentially pegged to currencies issued by governments in the countries that have decided to embark on such projects.
The Text of the Bill
“An individual, political committee, political fund, principal campaign committee, or party unit may not solicit or accept from any source a contribution or donation of any digital unit of exchange, including but not limited to bitcoin, that is not backed by a government-issued legal tender. An individual, political committee, political fund, principal campaign committee, or party unit that knowingly solicits or accepts any digital unit of exchange is subject to a civil penalty imposed by the board of up to $3,000. A person who knowingly accepts any digital unit of exchange in violation of this section is guilty of a felony.”
Whilst it remains interesting to see the candidates’ legal background affected by a felony because of accepting donations in Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency, it remains to be seen if this attempt will be successful, since it is evident that crypto is slowly entering the political arena.
In fact, the bill can be a serious deterrent for a specific profile of a voter. Political figures have been accepting bitcoin as a means of donation since 2014, when the asset was not such a prominent one like now. That person was Andrew Hemingway.
An Ever-Growing Practice
Each and every year, more and more candidates and political figures are accepting crypto as a payment method when it comes to donations and contributions. In fact, presidential candidate for the 2020 elections in the United States Andrew Yang is taking them in an attempt to help fund his campaign, and others will follow his steps.
The state of the industry is in an overall upswing, since Bitcoin and altcoins have been experiencing, for several weeks now, a bull market that has not only completed the recovery to pre mid-November “slump,” but even surpassed those numbers comfortably. As of the moment of writing this piece, the price of BTC was quickly approaching $12,000, and trending up in a hurry.
Whilst the mentioned representatives introduced the Bill in mid-May, the House is in recess right now.
By Andres Chavez
