(Kitco News) – The role of cryptocurrencies in the 2024 election season continues to grow as Tuesday saw Presidential candidate Donald Trump announce that his campaign now accepts crypto as a method of donation, launching a new fundraising page for interested contributors.
“Demonstrating President Trump’s success as a champion of American freedom and innovation, we proudly offer you a chance to contribute to the campaign with cryptocurrency,” the page says. “Saving our nation from Biden’s failures requires your support. As Biden piles regulations and red tape on all of us, President Trump stands ready to embrace new technologies that will Make America Great Again.”
The page includes the logos of several popular cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), USDC, Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB), XRP, and 0x Protocol (XRX).
All crypto donations will be reported as in-kind contributions, much like gifts of stock. The campaign will then decide to either liquidate the funds or hold them as crypto until a later date.
While independent Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has already been accepting crypto donations for his campaign for some time, this move by Trump is being touted as the first instance of a major party Presidential nominee accepting cryptocurrency donations, expanding the campaign’s digital fundraising methods.
“Today, President Trump’s campaign has launched a fundraising page that provides any federally permissible donor the ability to give - through its joint fundraising committees - using any cryptocurrency accepted through the Coinbase Commerce product,” a press release from the Trump campaign said. “This addition to President Trump’s already groundbreaking digital fundraising operation marks the first time a major party Presidential nominee has embraced cryptocurrency for donations.”
“Contribution limits and disclosure requirements for crypto donations will follow Federal Election Commission regulations,” the release added.
The move comes as Democrats have been scrambling to shift their messaging on cryptocurrencies as the asset class has grown in prominence in the eyes of many voters following years of what some have described as an attempt to eradicate the crypto industry in the U.S.
“As our President, Donald J. Trump has reduced regulations and championed innovation in financial technology, while Democrats, like Biden and his official surrogate Elizabeth Warren, continue to believe only government has the answers to how our nation leads the world,” the release said. “The effort to reduce the control of government on an American’s financial decision-making is part of a seismic shift toward freedom. Today’s announcement reflects President Trump’s commitment to an agenda that values freedom over socialistic government control.”
His campaign noted that Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) had promised to build an “‘anti-crypto army’ to restrict Americans’ right to make their own financial choices,” and pushed back against that position, saying, “MAGA supporters, now with a new cryptocurrency option, will build a crypto army moving the campaign to victory on November 5th!”
The move also opens a new source of potential funding for the Trump campaign, which has been lagging behind Biden in cash on hand even as it outraised the Democratic incumbent in April.
A screenshot of a statement from Biden’s campaign making the rounds on social media on Wednesday shows they are aware of the threat raising funds via crypto poses to their operations.
“Folks, this couldn’t be any more serious,” Biden’s message reads. “Cryptocurrency executives and oil barrons are coming out of the woodwork for Trump. They’re rushing $800,000 checks at glitzy events.”
The Biden campaign also admitted that Trump’s campaign was outraising them – pulling $76 million in April, with $50 million raised from a gala held by the former President in Florida last month – and implored supporters to donate to help combat this effort.
Biden stops short of veto threat
Further evidence of the Democrats’ shift in messaging on cryptos came in the form of a statement from the Executive Office of the President released on Wednesday.
The statement said the White House is against the U.S. House of Representatives passing a crypto market structure bill but stopped short of threatening to veto the measure if passed, as Biden threatened with the recent vote to overturn SEC Staff Accounting Bill 121.
“The Administration opposes passage of H.R. 4763, which would affect the regulatory structure for digital assets in the United States,” the statement said. “The Administration is eager to work with Congress to ensure a comprehensive and balanced regulatory framework for digital assets, building on existing authorities, which will promote the responsible development of digital assets and payment innovation and help reinforce United States leadership in the global financial system.”
The White House added that “H.R. 4763 in its current form lacks sufficient protections for consumers and investors who engage in certain digital asset transactions,” and reiterated that the administration “looks forward to continued collaboration with Congress on developing legislation for digital assets that includes adequate guardrails for consumers and investors while creating the conditions needed for innovation, and further time will be needed for such collaboration.”
The main goal of FIT21 is to clarify the process for classifying if a cryptocurrency is a commodity or security and give most regulatory control of the sector to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Advocates for the bill say U.S. law doesn't allow for crypto companies to operate without the threat of civil litigation. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler said this defense is merely an attempt by these companies to try and get out of meeting disclosure and other compliance requirements for securities issuers.
FIT21 would create a new definition specific to digital assets, identifying whether they're securities or digital commodities, and whether the SEC or CFTC should be the primary spot market regulator. The full House is set to take up the bill later Wednesday, with a vote scheduled for this afternoon.
While Democratic leadership opposes the bill, they also understand the precarious position of some lawmakers heading into the election and don’t want them to unnecessarily alienate voters who would otherwise support them.
“House Democratic leaders said today they will NOT whip against House Republicans’ crypto bill, I’m told,” Politico reporter Eleanor Mueller wrote on X, referring to FIT21.
