Bitcoin and politics. They may soon go hand-in-hand. Financially speaking, of course.
The Federal Election Commission will reportedly consider a request on Wednesday to officially allow political campaigns to accept bitcoin donations in the mid-term elections coming up.
The news comes as bitcoin continues its rapid growth and more organizations are embracing the digital currency, which allows for easy transactions less hefty fees charged by traditional card processors.
A non-partisan political group by the name of Make Your Laws made the request, which they’re hoping will be approved. Make Your Laws is launching soon, and seeks to use technology to empower citizens when it comes to elections and democracy.
The request seeks to have the Commission identify the donation type and cap it at $100 worth per donor, per candidate.
But since there aren’t any laws in place preventing campaigns from accepting bitcoin, some candidates have taken this to their advantage. Specifically, two candidates from Texas.
One is Congressman Steve Stockman of Texas’s 36th congressional district, who’s running for a Senate seat. He began accepting bitcoin donations at a New Year’s Eve party in downtown New York City at the NYC Bitcoin Center on Broad Street.
The second is gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott, who announced last week his campaign would be embracing the digital currency.
The Libertarian Party also collects bitcoin donations — an estimated $10,000 to $20,000 per year, according to Executive Director Wes Benedict. It’s a small amount in comparison to the total amount collected by the party each year (roughly $1 million), but the Libertarian movement has acknowledged bitcoin as a good thing.
“Libertarians are a little more interested in currencies than the average person out there, so we try to comply with requests to contribute in Bitcoin,” Benedict said. “We’re watching for an update to the ruling.”
[textmarker color=”C24000″]Source[/textmarker] CNN Money