Former President Donald Trump began accepting cryptocurrency donations Tuesday, his campaign announced, continuing Trump’s embrace of digital currency after he expressed skepticism about the industry during his time as president.

KEY FACTS

Trump’s campaign launched a website where donors can make contributions to his joint fundraising committees via Coinbase, announcing the new portal in a statement declaring he is the first “major party Presidential nominee” to accept digital currency.

Trump announced in May he would accept cryptocurrency donations and he has warmed to the industry after saying during his presidency he was “not a fan of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies.”

The launch comes as Trump appears to be making gains on President Joe Biden’s fundraising lead—his campaign and the Republican National Committee reported Monday they raised $76 million in April, about $10 million more than their March fundraising totals and about $25 million more than the $51 million Biden and the Democratic National Committee reported raising last month, down from more than $90 million in March.

The Federal Election Commission signed off on political action committees accepting cryptocurrency as donations in 2014, determining they fell under a Federal Election Campaign Act provision that defines contributions as “anything of value made by any person for the purpose of influencing any election for Federal office.”

KEY BACKGROUND

Trump has invested in crypto both politically and personally since his time in the White House. His $7 billion net worth is comprised of about $3 million in cryptocurrency, according to Forbes’ estimates, and he launched a set of NFT “trading cards” in December 2022. In recent months, he has courted the industry, hosting a dinner for crypto backers at Mar-A-Lago earlier this month, where he warned they “better vote” for him or face more regulations from the Biden administration, Politico reported.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

The House is expected to vote this week on legislation that would shift a significant portion of regulatory oversight of digital currency from the Securities and Exchange Commission to the more industry-friendly Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The industry has lobbied heavily for the bill, which passed the Senate last week with bipartisan support and is expected to also pass the House. The White House said earlier this month, however, that Biden would veto the legislation, warning that “limiting the SEC’s ability to maintain a comprehensive and effective financial regulatory framework for crypto-assets would introduce substantial financial instability and market uncertainty.”

Source : Forbes / May 22, 2024