South Korean lawmaker to launch Bitcoin, ETH political donation platform – with NFT receipts
A South Korean MP has unveiled plans to create a political donation platform for crypto-assets such as bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH) – with receipts issued in the form of non-fungible tokens ( NFT).
According to According to the Yonhap news agency, the project is the brainchild of Lee Kwang-jae, an MP representing the ruling Democratic Party. South Korea is due to go to the polls twice next year, and the campaign is already starting to heat up.
Lee and his office claimed his platform would be up and running by mid-January next year, and reportedly said:
“We are currently in the process of selecting a national holding company to partner with. We will reveal the wallet address and details on our official blog, Facebook and YouTube channels in early January.
The report notes that this would be the “first time a national politician has announced that he is ready to receive political support in the form of crypto-assets.”
Yonhap also pointed out that in the United States, crypto-savvy Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis had previously accepted donations made in bitcoin through crypto payment providers.
Lee’s office says he’s running the project as an “experiment,” but plans to receive up to $8,400 in crypto donations ahead of the March election. The platform will cap individual crypto donations at $840 per donor.
The platform will also be compatible with “two or three” altcoins, in addition to BTC and ETH. However, Lee’s office has yet to decide what those pieces will be. Yonhap noted that these coins should “be selected from” a pool of high-cap coins listed by domestic companies.
Lee’s office says his platform complies with the terms of the Official Elections Act and the Rules for the Management of Political Funds, the protocols governing political donations.
The office added that it would inform the public of details on how fiat KRW tax deductions could be applied – as under South Korean law all political donations are tax deductible.
Lee has been quoted as explaining:
“This is a time when innovative experiments are needed to change the perception of virtual assets and NFTs across the political spectrum. We need to improve our understanding of emerging technologies.
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Learn more:
– South Korea’s potential next president calls crypto a “medium of commerce and investment”
– How and why crypto suffers from unfair treatment by regulators, politicians and the media
– Argentinian President Calls Crypto “Hard Currency” Capable of Fighting Inflation
– United States Republican National Congress Committee to Accept Crypto Donations
