Shrina Kurani is a congressional candidate. She believes that cryptocurrency is more than just the future of money. It's also a transformative technology which could revolutionize campaign financing and attract a new generation.
She is one of a few candidates who are seeking campaign contributions in digital currencies like Bitcoin.
"We are a campaign which is speaking to large parts of the population, particularly younger people," stated the American-born daughter and son of Indian immigrants. She is seeking the Democratic nomination for the congressional seat east of Los Angeles.
If Kurani were running for the California Legislature, or any other office in the state, her foray into digital currencies to fund her campaign wouldn't be possible. Although the federal government permits political donations in cryptocurrency, California has banned it since 2004.
This difference demonstrates not only the growing popularity of cryptocurrency but also the wide variation in regulation across the U.S.
Some states, such as Arkansas and North Carolina don't allow cryptocurrency donations to state elections under their existing campaign finance laws. Others follow federal rules and allow donations with contribution caps and disclosure requirements. Other states like Hawaii, Idaho, and South Dakota have not adopted any specific policies regarding digital currency donations.
Alternatives to traditional banks are digital currencies. Instead, transactions are verified and recorded on a digital ledger called blockchain.
Perianne Boring is the founder and CEO of Chamber of Digital Commerce. It is a trade association that represents the blockchain industry.
Boring stated that "Blockchain technology could increase participation in politics in a very beneficial way", pointing out that this is especially true for younger people as well as members of minorities who may be skeptical about traditional monetary methods.
Critics point out that there is a potential downside to transparency, which means we don't know who was behind the donation.
Beth Rotman is the director of the Money in Politics and Ethics Program at Common Cause. She worries about the difficulty in tracing cryptocurrency.
"In campaign finance you want disclosure. Rotman stated that backup information is essential. "I understand that cryptocurrency is very sexy, and it signals to people that your are a new candidate. But there must be a better way than to compromise other parts of campaign finance system.
Timothy Massad is also concerned about disclosures. He was a former chairman at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Massad, who is currently a Harvard University research fellow, said, "The danger is this is still, in mine mind, a section where there is not enough regulation, particularly on illicit activity, especially on the risk of money laundering."
