Presidential candidate Andrew Yang accepting crypto donations

Andrew Yang, a US Presidential candidate in 2020, has said his campaign is accepting donations in Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies. He made the announcement on Twitter.

As US Federal Law requires campaigns to provide certain information about donors, people making cryptocurrency contributions have to follow a series of rules. Once their information is verified, donors are sent a wallet address via email through which they can make their contribution.

The campaign warns that if the wallet address is shared, others would be able to make untraceable donations. The maximum donation an individual can make is $2,500.

The tweet drew mixed responses, with one person arguing Yang should not support crypto in any way because “Bitcoin servers use so much electricity and non-renewable energy that it’s directly contributing to climate change”.

Another warns: “So, who is going to leak the address? We are one anonymous donation away from making this a matter of national security.”

Other users, however, say the announcement is “very cool” and a “smart move”.

Yang, an entrepreneur who founded the organisation Venture for America, favours a type of capitalist economy called “human capitalism”, which focuses on human wellbeing.