The U.S. Federal Election Committee (FEC) is currently considering a law that would allow supporters of a political campaign to use their computing power to mine cryptocurrency.
Little is known about Osia Network, LLC, the company that is making the request, despite the fact that the request has immense implications for the future of cryptocurrency and politics. It is based in Delaware, although the address might be for tax purposes. However, in the document, the company explains that the company would seek to embed cryptocurrency mining tools on the committee’s website. The volunteers would then decide how much computing power to volunteer. The resulting money generated would not go to the volunteers, but would be allocated to specific political candidates, while OsiaNetwork would realize a profit for their services.
Blockchain and Politics
There have been many theories about how blockchain could change the face of politics in various ways. The FEC has already ruled unanimously in 2014 that political committees could accept donations in the form of bitcoin, which many believed set a precedent for the digital currency eventually being accepted by PACs, or political action committees. The limit for bitcoin that could be donated was set at $100.
The committee also determined that the individual who donated would have to submit their name, address, occupation, and employer, as well. More recently, the issue has been contested and discussed in various states. For example, Colorado has proposed the idea of allowing cryptocurrency for political donations, while California’s campaign watchdog commission recently shot down the idea.
A New Frontier
The law, however, would certainly change the way that political fundraising occurs, as this is the first particular request of its kind, and could open the door to doors for many cryptocurrency companies to get involved with political campaigns in the United States.
This comes at a time where political campaign spending in the United States totals hundreds of millions of dollars, a figure which suggests suggesting that candidates need every revenue stream that they can get. The 2016 presidential election, for example, cost a total of over $6 billion.
OsiaNetwork wants volunteers to pool their processing power together, designate which devices that they choose to use for the cryptocurrency mining, and then the particular device’s computing power would be used to mine cryptocurrency for the political campaign, as long as the device was signed into OsiaNetwork’s website. It would also allow for the political campaign to directly solicit donations, as well. The company also clarifies that its share of mining rewards would not “change based on how much cryptocurrency is mined”.
The request, if approved, could certainly be huge for the cryptocurrency community in general, and could certainly be a considerable factor when it comes to fundraising for political campaigns.
