The US Elections Agency has approved the use of NFTs as campaign fundraising incentives

The US Federal Election Commission (FEC) has issued an advisory opinion that DataVault Holdings may use non-fungible tokens in fundraising efforts for political campaigns.

In a statement released on December 15, the FEC said It is “possible” for DataVault holders to send non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, to political campaign contributors without violating rules on corporate contributions. According to the election agency, DataVault will receive “fair compensation” for each NFT issued to campaign contributors, in addition to tracking all issued tokens in its own records.

“The Commission concludes that DataVault’s proposals to establish political liabilities through NFTs on the same terms that DataVault continues to offer to its non-political clients would be an allowable extension of credit from DataVault in the ordinary course of its business,” said FEC Chairman Alan Dickerson. “Under the Act and the Commission’s regulations, an incorporated commercial supplier may make loans to political groups on the same terms as the supplier provides to non-political creditors. DataVault is a ‘commercial supplier’ because its business involves providing the same types of services that it purports to provide to political groups.”

Speaking to Cointelegraph, DataVault CEO Nathaniel Bradley said:

“We are pleased with the FEC’s unanimous approval of our patented DataVault platform for use in political campaigns in the United States. From a broader perspective, we believe that blockchain technology represents the future of election processes, which seek to be reliable and transparent in their results.

In September, DataVault’s legal team proposed that the company be sanctioned Send NFTs as gifts For persons who have contributed to political campaigns. The tokens will also give their holders the option to use them to promote the campaign “on a strictly voluntary basis and without any compensation”. According to DataVault any issuance fees for NFTs or transactions will be reported as “Fundraising Expenses”.

FEC provided A similar advisory opinion in 2019 on blockchain tokens stated that some are “materially indistinguishable from traditional forms of campaign payments”. In this case, Congress candidate Omar Rais’s tokens had “no monetary value” and were used as incentives for his constituents to engage in voluntary campaign activities.

NFTs have already been used for political campaigns in other parts of the world. In South Korea, Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung’s campaign said in January it would issue NFTs featuring images of the politician and his campaign promises to donors.

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