'Pro-coin' Trump to Accept Election Donations in Cryptocurrency

"'Building a 'Cryptocurrency Army''
AP: Targeting Young Male Voters"

Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump has started raising campaign funds using cryptocurrency, AP News reported on the 21st (local time).

The Trump campaign issued a press release stating that donations can be made using all cryptocurrencies approved on the Coinbase exchange. This includes not only Bitcoin and Ethereum but also various 'meme coins' such as Dogecoin.

They said, "MAGA (Make America Great Again) supporters will now build a 'crypto army' to lead the campaign to victory." Referring to a post by Democratic key figure Senator Elizabeth Warren on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) in March, they pointed out, "Biden's proxy Warren said she is creating an 'anti-crypto army' that restricts Americans' financial choice rights."

The Trump campaign surpassed the Biden campaign in fundraising in April but still trails the Biden camp in total holdings.

Cryptocurrency donations are counted as in-kind contributions, similar to stock gifts. The campaign can decide whether to liquidate the cryptocurrency or keep it as is. The Trump campaign stated, "Cryptocurrency donation limits and disclosure requirements will follow Federal Election Commission regulations." However, AP News noted that due to the anonymity of cryptocurrencies, verifying the source of funds could be challenging.

AP News analyzed this fundraising effort as a move by Trump to promote himself as a crypto-friendly candidate and to capture the votes of young male voters.

Former President Trump said in 2019 during his presidency that Bitcoin is not a currency and made negative remarks for some time after leaving office. However, as he challenges for re-election, he has shifted to a crypto-friendly stance against President Biden. Trump sold non-fungible tokens (NFTs) last December, and according to Politico, he held a dinner for NFT owners at his Mar-a-Lago estate earlier this month, stating, "It’s better to vote for me because the Biden administration is against cryptocurrency."

Meanwhile, Trump is not the first politician to raise political funds through cryptocurrency. Independent candidate Robert Kennedy Jr., running as an independent in this election, announced in May last year that he accepts Bitcoin donations. Also, Republican Senator Rand Paul received Bitcoin donations during his 2015 presidential campaign.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.