The announcement was made by former US President Donald Trump, who is currently facing charges.
Former US President Donald Trump, who is currently facing criminal charges in four jurisdictions across the country, announced that his 2024 presidential campaign would accept cryptocurrency donations.
In a notice dated May 21, the Trump 2024 campaign announced that it had launched a fundraising page for eligible individuals to donate cryptocurrencies using the Coinbase Commerce product. The site features logos for Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB), XRP, USD Coin (USDC), Solana (SOL), and 0x (ZRX). The ad referenced Senator Elizabeth Warren’s attacks on cryptocurrencies, claiming without evidence that they were an “official alternative” to US President Joe Biden in Congress.
At a May 8 dinner for supporters who purchased a non-fungible token showing a photo of his surrender in a Georgia prison, Trump said he would ensure attendees could make donations to his campaign in cryptocurrency. With less than six months until Election Day, Trump is the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee for president of the United States in 2024. He will likely face President Biden, the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee.
On May 15, Trump responded to President Biden’s challenge by agreeing to meet on June 27 and September 10, respectively, for televised debates on CNN and ABC. Although terms have not yet been finalized, the debates could mark the first time the two candidates will face off in person since 2020, when Trump lost the election to Biden.
Although cryptocurrency donations are accepted, Trump’s “Issues” page on his campaign website did not specifically mention digital assets or blockchain at the time of publication. President Biden has rarely made public statements on cryptocurrencies, but he signed an executive order to create a regulatory framework for digital assets in 2022.
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Trump’s announcement of his cryptocurrency donation comes as the jury in his New York criminal trial prepares for deliberations expected next week. The former president was asked to appear in person in a Manhattan courtroom on charges of falsifying business records in exchange for a $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels. He also faces charges in Georgia and the District of Columbia for allegedly trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election, and in Florida for allegedly mishandling classified documents.
In 2021, after leaving office, Trump said bitcoin “looks like a scam” and favored the US dollar being “the currency of the world”. However, before Trump emerged as the likely Republican nominee, digital asset policy had at times taken center stage as challengers Vivek Ramaswamy and Ron DeSantis issued statements on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Trump said during a campaign event in January 2024 that he would never authorize the creation of a central bank digital currency in the United States.
The cryptocurrency donations come as political action committees (PACs) that support Trump have reportedly footed the bills for some of his criminal and civil cases.
In February, a judge fined Trump and his companies $355 million, finding them liable for fraud. In January, a New York judge ordered the former president to pay more than $83 million in a defamation suit filed by author E. Jane Carroll. In May 2023, the jury also found Trump liable for sexual assault and defamation against Carroll and ordered $5 million in damages.
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