Abstract
This Article examines the implications of the Federal Election Committee’s May 2014 advisory opinion on cryptocurrency’s viability within campaign finance regulation, and U.S. financial regulation more generally. Although the Commissioners sharply disagreed on whether Bitcoin is a cash or in-kind contribution, they voted unanimously to allow political committees to accept Bitcoin donations. Moreover, all the Commissioners agreed that Bitcoin donors must disclose their names, addresses, and occupations. While many view this decision as pushing Bitcoin and cryptocurrency further toward legitimacy, in actuality it undermines one of cryptocurrency’s distinct functionalities: pseudonymity. Paradoxically, while it approves the use of Bitcoin in campaign finance, the FEC ruling impairs cryptocurrency’s future within financial regulatory schemes.
First Page
305
Recommended Citation
Juliya Ziskina,
The Other Side of the Coin: The FEC's Move to Approve Crytocurrency's Use and Deny Its Viability,
10 Wash. J. L. Tech. & Arts
305
(2015).
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wjlta/vol10/iss4/3