Former
US
President
Donald
Trump
speaks
during
a
campaign
event
at
the
Waukesha
Expo
Center
in
Waukesha,
Wisconsin,
US,
on
Wednesday,
May
1,
2024.
Daniel
Steinle
|
Bloomberg
|
Getty
Images
The
Trump
campaign
announced
Tuesday
it
will
start
accepting
cryptocurrency
donations,
casting
the
move
as
one
of
solidarity
with
opponents
of
“socialistic
government
control”
over
the
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
ties
President
Joe
Biden,
who
is
running
for
reelection
against
Trump,
with
Sen.
Elizabeth
Warren,
D-Mass.,
a
vocal
crypto
critic
who
has
pushed
to
clamp
down
on
the
nascent
industry.
“Biden
surrogate
Elizabeth
Warren
said
in
an
attack
on
cryptocurrency
that
she
was
building
an
‘anti-crypto
army’
to
restrict
Americans’
right
to
make
their
own
financial
choices,”
the
campaign
said,
referring
to
a
reelection
ad
Warren
posted
on
X
in
March
2023.
“MAGA
supporters,
now
with
a
new
cryptocurrency
option,
will
build
a
crypto
army
moving
the
campaign
to
victory
on
November
5th!”
the
campaign
said.
The
move
opens
a
new
source
of
potential
funds
for
the
Trump
campaign,
which
still
lags
Biden
in
cash
on
hand
even
as
it
outraised
the
Democratic
incumbent
in
April.
Crypto
donations
will
be
reported
as
in-kind
contributions,
much
like
gifts
of
stock.
The
campaign
can
then
decide
to
either
liquidate
the
digital
currency
or
hang
on
to
it.
“Contribution
limits
and
disclosure
requirements
for
crypto
donations
will
follow
Federal
Election
Commission
regulations,”
the
Trump
campaign
said.
The
acceptance
of
crypto
is
just
the
latest
in
a
string
of
Trump
efforts
to
court
the
crypto
community,
which
tends
to
skew
younger
and
more
male,
according
to
April
2023
polling
from
Pew
Research
Center.
In
December,
Trump
sold
a
limited
run
of
NFT
trading
cards
that
could
be
bought
with
cryptocurrency,
for
instance.
Earlier
this
month,
he
hosted
a
ritzy
dinner
for
his
NFT
backers
at
the
Mar-a-Lago
club.
There,
Trump
told
crypto
supporters
that
they
“better
vote”
for
him,
because
the
Biden
administration
is
“against”
crypto,
Politico
reported.
Biden’s
campaign,
meanwhile,
has
mirrored
his administration’s skepticism toward
cryptocurrency
and
its
leaders.
Hours
before
the
Trump
campaign
started
catering
to
crypto
donors,
Biden’s
team
sent
a
fundraising
text
warning
supporters
that
“cryptocurrency
executives
and
oil
barons
are
coming
out
of
the
woodwork
for
Trump.”
The
Biden
campaign
did
not
immediately
respond
when
CNBC
asked
for
its
views
on
accepting
crypto
donations.
Tuesday’s
announcement
from
the
Trump
campaign
billed
Trump
as
the
“first
major
party
nominee”
to
embrace
crypto
donations.
But
Trump
is
not
the
official
nominee
until
July.
And
he
is
not
the
first
presidential
candidate
to
accept
cryptocurrency
donations.
Robert
F.
Kennedy
Jr.,
who
is
mounting
a
longshot
independent
presidential
bid,
announced
in
May
2023
that
his
campaign
would
accept
bitcoin
donations.
Sen.
Rand
Paul,
R-Ky.,
took
in
bitcoin
donations
for
his
own
presidential
campaign
in
2015.
