Trump Campaign Team Announces Acceptance of Donations via Cryptocurrency

Donald Trump's presidential campaign team announced on Tuesday, May 21, that it will begin accepting cryptocurrency donations as part of efforts to build a so-called "cryptocurrency army" before Election Day.

The Trump campaign has launched a fundraising page allowing "any donor permitted by the federal government to donate to his political committee using any crypto assets accepted through the Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange."

This announcement underscores Trump's message as a crypto-friendly candidate, appealing to a core group of younger male voters increasingly likely to engage with digital assets.

Cryptocurrency is a type of digital asset that can be traded over the internet without relying on the global banking system.

The Trump campaign will accept a range of popular cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, as well as meme coins like Shiba Inu and Dogecoin.

It remains unclear whether the Trump campaign team will retain the cryptocurrencies or sell them immediately and what fees might be incurred for liquidation. Although the campaign team states its intention to comply with U.S. election law, the anonymous nature of cryptocurrencies may complicate the verification of fund sources.

Trump himself has already raised millions in cryptocurrencies through his Trump Digital Trading Cards NFT project and the MAGA tokens released last August.

Coinbase spokesperson Julia Krieger stated, "Cryptocurrency is non-partisan and can propel funding forward because it’s cheaper and faster," adding that the Coinbase platform is open to all candidates this election season.

Representatives for President Joe Biden's campaign did not respond to requests for comment on whether they will begin accepting cryptocurrency donations.

While some states do not permit cryptocurrency donations for state campaigns under existing campaign finance laws, the Federal Election Commission does allow committees to accept Bitcoin as a donation.

In a 2014 advisory opinion, the Commission concluded that Bitcoin is considered "money or anything of value" under the law, and political committees should assess the value of Bitcoin donations based on the market value at the time of receipt.

Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s presidential campaign currently accepts Bitcoin donations.

On the traditional funding front, Biden and the Democratic National Committee announced on Monday that they raised over $51 million in April, significantly less than the $76 million reported by Trump and the Republicans for the same month.