A candidate for the Wisconsin State Assembly is challenging a state regulator by accepting donations in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC). Phil Anderson, a real estate broker and entrepreneur, now accepts cryptocurrency donations for his Assembly campaign. According to an official statement by Anderson, crypto donations are available via major cryptocurrency payment service provider BitPay. Anderson said that his campaign is accepting crypto donations despite regulatory uncertainty from the Wisconsin Ethics Commission. Back in 2018, Anderson accepted Bitcoin donations in his campaign for governor of Wisconsin despite the WEC finding them a “serious challenge” to compliance with state law. According to …
Major United States-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has filed to close its political action committee (PAC) on April 3. According to a filing with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) — the regulatory agency in charge of enforcing election laws — Coinbase’s PAC received no funds nor made any disbursements, and is seeking to terminate the PAC. Per FEC regulations, a PAC must file a termination report in order to cease operations once it no longer intends to make or receive contributions or expenditures. In the U.S., PACs are independent organizations, often representing different business, labor, or policy interests, that collect and …
Witnesses in the U.S. Congress voiced their concerns about the potential for using cryptocurrencies to make illegal campaign donations during a hearing of the Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism held today, June 26. The hearing, titled “Protecting Our Elections: Examining Shell Companies and Virtual Currencies as Avenues for Foreign Interference,” was led by Senator Lindsey Graham with Scott Dueweke of DarkTower, David Murray of the Financial Integrity Network, and Sheila Krumholz of the Center for Responsive Politics as witnesses. Dueweke, who is also a director at The Identity and Payments Association (IDPAY), said during his testimony that virtual currencies are …
In terms of policy, Greg Tanaka calls himself a legislator for the digital age and possibly the most pro-crypto person running in this election cycle. A member of the Palo Alto City Council, he has set his sights on the United States House of Representatives seat for California’s 16th, the Silicon Valley district. In an interview with Cointelegraph, the self-described nerd exuded enthusiasm and spoke with an unwavering smile about crypto and the financial system. Legal DAOs and crypto tax holidays “It’s the first form of truly better money,” Tanaka said of crypto. “More benefit goes to the people creating …
In October, Greenland was reported to be exploring the feasibility of an online voting platform for its national elections. Among the options being considered is a blockchain-based system. That isn’t entirely surprising. Electronic voting, or e-voting, has long been viewed as a promising use case for blockchain technology. “It’s time for online voting,” wrote Alex Tapscott in a New York Times opinion piece in 2018. “Using blockchain technology, online voting could boost voter participation and help restore the public’s trust in the electoral process and democracy.” It seems especially timely now as large swaths of the world’s population are raising …