Ethics Commission asks legislature to decide on campaign finance regarding cryptocurrency

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Ethics Commission is asking the state Legislature to decide what to do about campaign donations made in bitcoin and other digital currencies.

The commission’s administrator on Friday asked the chairmen of Senate and Assembly elections committees to address the issue and “provide clarity to candidates and committees as to whether they may accept contributions of cryptocurrency.”

The Ethics Commission last month held a public hearing in reaction to a request from the Wisconsin Libertarian Party that it be allowed to accept bitcoins.

The federal government, Montana and Washington, D.C., already allow bitcoin campaign contributions, but most states have been slow to embrace cryptocurrencies because the source of the donation is untraceable.

The Wisconsin Ethics Commission says it also has concerns about the anonymity of the donations.

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