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US Congressman Darren Soto to Accept Cryptocurrency Donations for 2020 Election

Supporters can now send the congressman crypto donations via BitPay for his 2020 reelection campaign.

Rep. Darren Soto (in foreground) (Rep. Ruben Gallego/Wikimedia Commons)
Rep. Darren Soto (in foreground) (Rep. Ruben Gallego/Wikimedia Commons)

Rep. Darren Soto (D-Fla.) – sponsor of a number of legislative proposals around blockchain technology – is accepting cryptocurrency donations for his reelection campaign.

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  • Soto made the announcement during the U.S. Blockchain Debate on Wednesday, hosted by Soto's campaign and the Chamber of Digital Commerce PAC.
  • Donations will be processed by payments processor BitPay, with eight different cryptocurrency options supported for conversion into U.S. dollars.
  • Those include bitcoin (BTC), bitcoin cash (BCH), ether (ETH), Gemini dollar (GUSD), USD Coin (USDC), Paxos standard (PAX), Binance USD (BUSD) and XRP.
  • Soto has long been an advocate of blockchain technology, saying the government should support its use for business and consumers, according to a press release.
  • Soto, who is also a co-chair of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus, said he was "excited" to host a crypto debate on the same day as a vote to pass parts of the Digital Taxonomy Act.
  • The proposal was ultimately passed and added to the wider Consumer Safety Technology Act.
  • This will now be debated in the House of Representatives.
  • The blockchain portion of the act would require the Federal Trade Commission to submit a report and recommendations to Congress on unfair or deceptive acts relating to digital assets, Soto's spokesperson told CoinDesk.

See also: Pro-Bitcoin Senate Candidate Wins Primary Race in Wyoming

Sebastian Sinclair

Sebastian Sinclair is the market and news reporter for CoinDesk operating in the South East Asia timezone. He has experience trading in the cryptocurrency markets, providing technical analysis and covering news developments affecting the movements on bitcoin and the industry as a whole. He currently holds no cryptocurrencies.

Sebastian Sinclair