WASHINGTON — Rand Paul, the firebrand libertarian senator from Kentucky, is running for president. And early donors to his campaign are already noting how Paul is setting himself apart from the pack.
He's taking donations in Bitcoin.
Paul's website will accept traditional payment methods, too, of course, such as credit cards. But the GOP contender is the first declared candidate in the 2016 race to fund his White House bid with virtual currencies. It's possible Paul is the first presidential candidate in U.S. history to do so, in the latest sign of how politics and technology now frequently overlap.
Paul has long admired virtual currencies. He's even thought about ways he would improve upon Bitcoin, which, for the unfamiliar, is a form of digital cash that can be spent on real-world goods and services.
By encouraging voters to donate with Bitcoin, Paul gets to take advantage of another benefit: Transactions by Bitcoin will probably cost his campaign far less in merchant fees, increasing his revenue slightly on every Bitcoin transaction. Over hundreds or even thousands of donations, those savings could add up.
Paul isn't the first candidate to take Bitcoin.
State-level candidates in a number of places, including New Hampshire and Vermont, have accepted donations in the virtual currency in previous campaign cycles.
The Federal Elections Commission voted 6-0 last year to allow Bitcoin donations to political committees.