US state considering proposal to allow use of cryptocurrency for political donations

If a proposed move by the California Fair Political Practices Commission goes through, public office candidates in the US may soon be able to accept donations in the form of cryptocurrencies.

As per a report by Coindesk, a discussion was held by the California Fair Political Practices Commission on Thursday regarding election issues faced by California. A proposal was included that allowed candidates working for public offices to accept campaign donations in the form of cryptocurrencies.

The proposed amendments have not been adopted as the members have acknowledged their lack of understanding of the concept in its entirety.

Chairwoman Alice Germond stated during the hearing the need to properly define “cryptocurrency”.

“I would be inclined to think that bitcoin is a thing that is not US money but is more like a currency, like the Euro. But I would like to hear more to develop my thinking on this,” Germond said.

Sharing her support for cryptocurrencies as donations, Commissioner Allison Hayward referred to cryptocurrencies as being "new and designed to be confidential".

However, she showed her trust on the blockchain technology, claiming it might ultimately be a "very robust tool in tracing activity.”

In the discussion meeting, an amount of USD 100 per donation was agreed upon. Though not a formal adoption, the commissioners made a brief agreement that the amount would be appropriate for the upcoming midterm elections. Further studying the matter in 2019, the commission would reach a final decision.