60% of Americans believe that it should be legal to donate cryptocurrencies for election campaigns, under the same rules that apply to U.S. dollar donations.
Research company Clovr, surveying 1,023 eligible voters in the country, also found that only 21% disagreed that cryptocurrency donations should be allowed.
At present, cryptocurrency donations are treated as in-kind contributions limited to $100 worth at the time of donating. This is based on a 2014 ruling, when the price of BTC was around $440.
54% of respondents said that cryptocurrencies were secure enough to be used for political purposes, while 73% of those who claimed to be knowledgeable about digital currencies said that security was not a problematic issue.
Only 42% saw cryptocurrencies as financially stable enough for political purposes. 52% of self-identified Republicans answered in the affirmative, whereas only 40% of Democrats and 35% independents did so.
Only about 25% said they would be more willing to donate to campaigns if cryptocurrencies were an option like fiat currencies. "[M]ost contributors still prefer to donate with U.S. dollars, but a growing number said they would prefer to either give exclusively with digital currencies or a combination of both dollars and cryptocurrency," Clovr noted.
Even though more than half of respondents supported legality of cryptocurrency donations, 62% said cryptocurrencies were more likely to be used illegally in the U.S. political system, compared to the U.S. dollar. "Even a slight majority of people who were incredibly familiar with cryptocurrency believed illegal campaign activity would increase," Clovr said.
The firm added, "State governments haven't yet jumped on the cryptocurrency bandwagon, but if the FEC [Federal Election Commission] and other federal agencies expand its use, then history indicates many will follow."
Already, several politicians have made use of cryptocurrency donations in their campaigns, including Brian Forde, running for California's 45th Congressional District, who received the support of, among other investors, the Winklevoss twins, founders of the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange.
