Elections Canada, the Canadian electoral body, recently commented on how to deal with cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin in political fundraising.
The Canadian Electoral Commission asks political parties to comment on Bitcoin
iPolitics reports that the Canadian Electoral Commission is preparing for the upcoming elections in a few months, and therefore asks political parties to provide comments on the matter by January 21.
At the same time, the electoral body also issued an explanation to provide political entities with guidance on accepting cryptocurrency donations and conducting cryptocurrency transactions. For the Canadian Electoral Commission, this was done at the request of the political class:
“Because of the current increasing enthusiasm for cryptocurrency contributions, relevant political entities have asked the organization to provide guidance on accepting donations and other transactions in Bitcoin or Ark. This explanatory note is intended to answer the following questions: Canadian Election Law (‘CEA Is the cryptocurrency in ‘) monetary or non-monetary? How does the donation rule apply? Can a political entity use cryptocurrency to purchase a property or service directly? The note also clarifies the reporting requirements for buying, selling, transferring, and holding cryptocurrencies. ”
In addition, the Canadian Electoral Commission may update the explanations after receiving comments from political parties and other political entities.
Cryptographic currency donation limit
The questions raised in the explanatory notes include how different amounts of cryptocurrency contributions should be handled. For example, a donation using a privacy currency such as Zcash and Monero is not ideal, and a cryptocurrency donation of more than $200 will require the party to report the name and address of the contributor in the financial statements.
The Canadian Electoral Commission sets the upper limit for anonymous cryptocurrency contributions to $20. If political entities passively receive more than this amount, they must remit the value of the token received to the Canadian Electoral Commission by check.
Use of cryptocurrency donations
The explanatory notes also state that public officials may not use cryptocurrencies to purchase real estate or services directly. The same applies to registered political parties, who must first liquidate their digital assets and then deposit the proceeds into their bank accounts before they are purchased as part of the election-related expenses.
However, if the purchase is not related to the election, the registered party can purchase the property and services directly using the cryptocurrency.
The Central Bank said that since 2016, Canadian Bitcoin ownership has grown by 72%. – CCN (@CryptoCoinsNews) July 12, 2018
The Canadian Electoral Commission has every reason to take positive steps, as the Bank of Canada estimated in the middle of last year that the bitcoin ownership of North American countries has increased by 72% since 2016. The study showed that 5% of Canadians held Bitcoin at the time, compared to 2.9% in 2016.
