Minnesota House Bill Aims to Outlaw Cryptocurrency Donations

A group of Democratic Minnesota House Representatives have some opinions on crypto and, well, they don't want it mixing into political donations. Minnesota House Bill 2884, introduced by Rep. Rick Hansen (D), Rep. Jamie Becker-finn (D), Rep. Raymond Dehn (D), and Rep. Peter Fischer (D), wants to outlaw "from any source a contribution or donation of any digital unit of exchange, including but not limited to bitcoin, that is not backed by a government-issued legal tender."

Interestingly, it's not clear where stablecoins would fall here.

The full text of the Bill is below:

An individual, political committee, political fund, principal campaign committee, or party unit may not solicit or accept from any source a contribution or donation of any digital unit of exchange, including but not limited to bitcoin, that is not backed by a government-issued legal tender. An individual, political committee, political fund, principal campaign committee, or party unit that knowingly solicits or accepts any digital unit of exchange is subject to a civil penalty imposed by the board of up to $3,000. A person who knowingly accepts any digital unit of exchange in violation of this section is guilty of a felony.

As we can see, this could be a serious deterrent for a certain swathe of voter, especially since crypto is slowly entering politics. The first candidate to accept bitcoin, Andrew Hemingway, took donations in it as early as 2014 and it appears Andrew Yang is accepting crypto donations for his presidential bid. Many others are following suit.

The representatives introduced the Bill on May 14, 2019 and the House is currently in recess. We've reached out to them for further comment.

Photo by Nicole Harrington on Unsplash

DISCLOSURE

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of stock appreciation rights, which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG.

John Biggs

Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk’s longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.