Cryptocurrency has been increasingly adopted by several software developers, online retail, and business ventures. As crypto assets are slowly entering the mainstream, it has ventured into campaign contributions.
Holly Kim, the treasurer of Lake County in Illinois has announced her acceptance of crypto donations in the reelection bid, being the first political candidate in the state to do so. Kim is a Democrat running for re-election next year, as the first political candidate to accept digital assets she received a $3 Litecoin donation from the founder of T Capital Coin, an investment management firm in Lake Forest, Mark Tan.
According to Holly Kim, accepting crypto donations opens up a new frontier for supporting tech-savvy people. The Lake County Treasurer is up for re-election in 2022 and already stated her plans for accepting the leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin among other major crypto assets in the market such as Dogecoin which has seen an increase 100-fold over the past year and Ethereum along with Dai.
As a crypto enthusiast, Kim has been using her status as a former trustee in Mundelein to promote the adoption of cryptocurrency in the village. Due to her interest in the crypto space, she has plans to hold onto the crypto donations in light of a potential price advance in the market.
Accepting crypto donations is a novel and potentially lucrative fundraising technique in political campaigns. The County Treasurer believes it is a brilliant method for allowing blockchain enthusiasts to enter the political world.
Although Illinois candidates live in a state with a burgeoning crypto scene, they have been as forthcoming as anyone else. Aaron Mereighn, a Conservative Party candidate for lieutenant governor had received a Bitcoin contribution back in 2018, as stated by Matt Deitrich a spokesman for the Illinois State Board of Election.
Rick Crosley, a political consultant for DuPage County, stated that crypto assets have several advantages that will add to the political mainstream. Cryptocurrencies do not require filters through banks and credit card companies, which can allow them to serve as collateral for loans, and crypto transactions are carried out at high speed with minimal cost.
Crypto donations in politics are not unheard of in the US. The Federal Election Commission legalized crypto political contributions in 2014. Several state and federal legislative candidates have also been accepting crypto donations in a bid to spur contributions from tech-savvy demographics.
