Former White House adviser: Bitcoin and blockchain will benefit if Hillary is elected president

Last week, Hillary's "email gate" exposed by WikiLeaks became the focus of the media. Surprisingly, Hillary's campaign group also considered accepting digital currency donations, but the team rejected this plan on the grounds that Bitcoin was "too liberal."

However, back in June, the Clinton campaign announced that its candidate supports blockchain applications for public services, a claim that alluded to Bitcoin (after all, Bitcoin was the first application of blockchain technology).

So what is the Democratic Party’s position on Bitcoin? The Hillary campaign did not respond to this question.

Other analysts shared their views on this.

Brian Forde, a former White House technology advisor and current senior lecturer at MIT, said he believes a Hillary Clinton presidency would be good news for cryptocurrency and blockchain.

Forde told reporters:

“Hillary has been a passionate advocate for internet freedom, and I think she will make the right decision to allow cryptocurrencies and blockchain applications to succeed in the United States.”

He also suggested that this support could take forms such as funding for cryptocurrency research, supporting the adoption of blockchain applications in government, and working with experts to develop a regulatory framework that would spur growth in the industry.

Bitcoin donation limit is too low

In the United States, participating in a presidential campaign requires enormous resources, but current regulations mean that it is difficult for campaigns to raise money from Bitcoin users.

Specifically, the current limit for Bitcoin donations is 100美元, while the limit for individual donations from other currencies is 2700美元.

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) made this clear in a 2014 ruling, which also imposed other restrictions on how Bitcoin can be spent, such as requiring that funds be converted into U.S. dollars before being donated to candidates.

Because of these limitations, Hillary Clinton’s campaign aides may decide that accepting Bitcoin does more harm than good.

“I doubt that accepting bitcoin is worth the hassle because of the $100 limit,” said Kenneth Gross, a partner at Skadden LLP and an expert in election finance law.

However, some candidates see value in accepting Bitcoin payments.

For example, earlier this year, Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky became the first presidential candidate to accept Bitcoin donations, joining Libertarian Gary Johnson, who also accepted Bitcoin donations before him.

Cash or credit card

While current dollar limits could serve as a disincentive for bitcoin donations, early indications are that they may not remain in place for long.

The $100 limit makes the upper limit of Bitcoin donations comparable to cash donations. It is reported that the purpose of these limits is to maintain financial traceability.

“If there’s a candidate who has a bitcoin address on their website and you donate some money to that candidate, that’s similar to a cash donation,” said Jerry Brito, executive director of the advocacy group Coin Center.

However, in Brito’s opinion, the limits on Bitcoin donations should be more similar to other online payment methods.

He told CoinDesk:

“If a candidate is using a payment processor like BitPay or Coinbase where the name and other required information is captured, then it is effectively similar to a credit card donation and the $100 limit does not apply.”

Change limit

So far, there have been signs that the Federal Election Commission (FEC) may agree to change the donation limits for digital currency.

The agency recently announced a notice of preparation for modernized technical rules, signaling its intention to overhaul its policy on electronic means of donation.

During the public consultation phase, Coin Center will reportedly push for limits on bitcoin donations to bring them in line with other online payment methods, such as credit card payments.

If the Federal Election Commission (FEC) allows larger digital currency donations, Brito predicts that Bitcoin users from both the Democratic and Republican parties in the United States will have the opportunity to promote their interests through cryptocurrency donations.