Ethics board rules that Iowa politicians are free to accept crypto donations
Iowa rapper and entrepreneur Marquas Ashworth used cryptocurrency to sell investment shares in his latest album.
A Des Moines-based art gallery participated in a crypto auction of digital artwork.
As of Thursday, Iowa politicians can get in on the action, too.
The Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board voted unanimously to issue an advisory opinion classifying political donations in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum as in-kind contributions.
That means candidates can accept payments but must report both the cash value and the donor's name. They also need to report when a cryptocurrency is sold and to whom.
In issuing the guidance, the board followed the lead of the Federal Election Commission, which has long allowed crypto contributions.
"The short answer is yes, a (campaign) committee can accept cryptocurrency contributions because there's no rule against it," said board attorney Andrew Greenberg.
More: Des Moines art gallery, digital marketing company auctioning three whimsical popsicle NFTs
It's not clear whether any Iowa politician has attempted to accept such contributions. Most candidates use fundraising platforms — like the Republican WinRed and Democratic ActBlue — which do not currently support such contributions.
The opinion notes that campaigns cannot spend cryptocurrency directly. That's because all campaign expenditures must come from money deposited into an Iowa financial institution, Greenberg told the board.
Daniel Lathrop is a staff writer on the Register's investigative team. Reach him at (319) 244-8873 or dlathrop@dmreg.com. Follow him at @lathropd on Twitter and at facebook.com/IowaGadfly.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Cryptocurrency counts as in-kind contributions, says Iowa ethics board
