Lake County Treasurer Holly Kim, a Democrat who is running for reelection next year, became one of the first Illinois political candidates to accept digital currency when a supporter gave her a $3 donation in Litecoin, with the promise of more to come later.

It’s a noveland potentially lucrative fundraising technique — Dogecoin, one form of crypto Kim accepts, has seen its value increase 100-fold over the past year — and Kim said it’s a way to connect with tech-savvy people who might be new to political donations.

“It seems to be how people want to give. I feel like it’s a new frontier.”

The Federal Election Commission has allowed crypto donations since 2014, but so far few politicians have taken advantage of that (Andrew Yang, the entrepreneur and Democratic presidential candidate, has been a notable exception).

Kim said:

“I am always looking for creative ways to engage our community and I believe this is something that we can be a leader on.”

“A vast array of businesses and organizations have been accepting digital currency and I am so excited to bring this opportunity to our local elections as well”

Anyone wanting to donate cryptocurrency will have to fill out a donation form on her website. “After submitting the form, you will be taken to our donation page on the Coinbase platform,” the website explains.

Coinbase Commerce supports payment in a number of cryptocurrencies: bitcoin, ether, DAI, litecoin, dogecoin, bitcoin cash, or USD coin. DOGE support was added in July.

Source: US County Treasurer Holly Kim Accepts Campaign Donations in Crypto – Fintechs.fi