Republican Fundraising Committee–In A First–Will Accept Cryptocurrency Donations - Forbes

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Topline

The campaign fundraising arm of House Republicans, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), announced Thursday it will begin accepting donations in cryptocurrency, becoming the first major party committee to do so.

Key Facts

Donations will be accepted using BitPay, a bitcoin payment service provider.

However, the NRCC will never actually retain the crypto: when crypto donations are made, the payment will be transferred to U.S. dollars before it is held and used by the NRCC, Axios first reported.

The head of the NRCC, Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), is a co-chair of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus and member of the House Financial Services Committee.

The Blockchain Caucus describes itself as a “bipartisan group that promotes the future of blockchain technology and shapes the role Congress plays in its development.”

Crucial Quote

"We are focused on pursuing every avenue possible to further our mission of stopping Nancy Pelosi’s socialist agenda and retaking the House majority, and this innovative technology will help provide Republicans the resources we need to succeed,” Emmer said in a statement.

Key Background

Some past political candidates have accepted donations in crypto. Democratic presidential candidates Andrew Yang and Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) both allowed supporters to donate to their campaigns using crypto. Emmer’s 2020 House campaign also accepted crypto donations.

Tangent

In 2014, the FEC issued an advisory opinion detailing procedures for how campaigns can accept crypto donations.

Chief Critic

In an interview with Fox Business earlier this month, former President Donald Trump said Bitcoin “seems like a scam,” causing a dip in the price of the cryptocurrency.