Foundation Seeks Green Light for Bitcoin Campaign Contributions (Sept. 19, 2013)
Sept. 19, 2013
The Bitcoin Foundation is pushing for permission to allow bitcoins as a source of federal political contributions. The trade group this week made its pitch to the U.S. Federal Election Commission in a letter announcing its support for the concept, which the Conservative Action Fund PAC (CAF) proposed earlier this month. The Bitcoin Foundation argues in its letter that because Internet and text-based payments already are a source of campaign contributions, bitcoins should also have their place in campaign funding, citing various authorities that recognize Bitcoin as a legitimate currency. “The collection of bitcoin contributions is no different in this regard than the collection of contributions online or by text message,” Bitcoin Foundation said in its letter. Bitcoin Foundation expects a decision from the Federal Election Commission by Oct. 28.
Bitcoin, launched in 2009 as an open-source software code, has grown to form a $1 billion industry that remains unregulated. U.S. Magistrate Judge Amos L. Mazzini earlier this month deemed Bitcoin a form of currency. “As another federal agency has recognized, Bitcoins are a digital currency that act as a substitute for legal tender, and can be used to buy and sell goods and services,” Bitcoin Foundation noted in its letter.
