US House Republicans' campaign arm to accept crypto donations

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), the U.S. House Republicans' campaign arm, is set to accept donations in cryptocurrency.

Axios reported the news on Wednesday, saying that the NRCC has partnered with crypto payments processor BitPay for the initiative. That means crypto donations will be converted into U.S. dollars by BitPay before being deposited in the NRCC's account.

The NRCC has become the first national party committee to accept crypto donations, while several federal political candidates in the past have solicited donations in crypto.

"We are focused on pursuing every avenue possible to further our mission of stopping Nancy Pelosi’s socialist agenda and retaking the House majority, and this innovative technology will help provide Republicans the resources we need to succeed,” Tom Emmer, a crypto-friendly U.S. Representative (Republican-Minnesota) and the NRCC chairman, told Axios.

Emmer is also co-chair of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus and a member of the House Financial Services Committee. He recently reintroduced his Safe Harbor for Forked Assets Act proposal that would prohibit the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from leveraging penalties related to forked assets until it issues further guidance for taxpayers. Earlier this month, Emmer also asked the IRS to ease regulations on crypto donations to charitable organizations.