Anti-Virus Tycoon John McAfee Accepts Bitcoin for Presidential Run

Anti-virus software pioneer John McAfee is now accepting bitcoin in his 2016 presidential campaign.

AccessTimeIconOct 2, 2015 at 11:17 a.m. UTC
Updated Sep 11, 2021 at 11:54 a.m. UTC
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Anti-virus software pioneer John McAfee is now accepting bitcoin in his 2016 presidential campaign.

The self-proclaimed "eccentric millionaire", who founded McAfee in 1987, shared the link to a BitPay donation page with his 29,000 Twitter followers yesterday.

McAfee, with his colourful history and upcoming court date for a DUI charge, has surprised many with his candidacy.

He announced he would run in the election on 8th September with his new party, the 'Cyber Party' to rally against government snooping and bureaucracy.

All other donations for McAfee's campaign are being processed through PayPal.

In-kind donation

Last year, the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) approved the digital currency as an in-kind donation for campaigns and political action committees (PACs).

In line with these rules, donations in bitcoin are limited to $2,700 – and require a number of personal details, including the donor's name, address and place of employment.

McAfee joins fellow presidential candidate Rand Paul, who began accepting the currency for his presidential campaign in April, having previously expressed skepticism on the subject.

The Senator's run has since been marred with several high-profile struggles, with Bookmaker William Hill now putting his odds at 125-1.

Fellow tech CEO Carly Fiorina, who lead Hewlett-Packard between 1999 and 2005, announced her decision to run on 4th May. Her odds are currently 12-1. McAfee is yet to be listed.

Featured image via McAfee 16/YouTube

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