Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event held at the Expo Center in Waukesha, Wisconsin, Wednesday, May 1, 2024.
Daniel Stein | Bloomberg | getty images
The Trump campaign announced Tuesday that it will begin accepting cryptocurrency donations as part of solidarity with opponents of “socialist government control” of U.S. financial markets.
Supporters of former President Donald Trump can donate using “any cryptocurrency accepted through the Coinbase Commerce product,” his campaign said in a press release.
The announcement links President Joe Biden, who is running for re-election against Trump, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, a vocal cryptocurrency critic who has sought to crack down on the nascent cryptocurrency industry.
“Biden’s deputy Elizabeth Warren, in her attack on cryptocurrencies, said she was building an ‘anti-crypto army’ to limit Americans’ financial choices,” the campaign said, referring to a re-election ad Warren posted on X in March. “He said. 2023.
“Now with new cryptocurrency options, MAGA supporters will build a cryptocurrency army to lead their campaign to victory on November 5th!” the campaign said.
The move opens up a new potential funding source for Trump’s campaign, which still lags Biden in cash on hand despite surpassing the incumbent Democratic candidate in April.
Cryptocurrency donations are reported as in-kind donations, just like stock gifts. The campaign can then decide whether to liquidate the digital currency or keep it intact.
The Trump campaign said, “Donation limits and disclosure requirements for cryptocurrency donations will follow Federal Election Commission regulations.”
According to an April 2023 Pew Research Center poll, cryptocurrency acceptance is the latest in a series of efforts by Trump to woo the cryptocurrency community. The cryptocurrency community tends to skew younger and more male.
For example, Trump sold limited NFT trading cards in December that could be purchased with cryptocurrency.
Earlier this month, he hosted a lavish dinner for NFT backers at his Mar-a-Lago club.
There, Trump told cryptocurrency supporters that they “better vote” for him because the Biden administration is “against” cryptocurrencies, Politico reported.
Biden’s campaign, meanwhile, has reflected his administration’s skeptical attitude toward cryptocurrencies and their leaders.
Hours before the Trump campaign began catering to cryptocurrency donors, Biden’s team sent a fundraising text to supporters warning that “crypto executives and oil barons are doing the woodwork for Trump.”
The Biden campaign did not immediately respond when CNBC asked for its views on accepting cryptocurrency donations.
The Trump campaign’s announcement Tuesday billed him as the “first major party candidate” to accept cryptocurrency donations. But Trump is not officially a candidate until July.
And he’s not the first presidential candidate to receive cryptocurrency donations.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running for the independent presidential election, announced that his campaign will begin accepting Bitcoin donations in May 2023. Republican Senator Rand Paul received Bitcoin donations for his 2015 presidential campaign.
