A South Korean MP has unveiled plans to create a political donations platform for cryptoassets such as bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH) – with receipts issued in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
According to the news agency Yonhap, the project is the brainchild of Lee Kwang-jae, an MP representing the ruling Democratic Party. South Korea is due to go to the polls twice next year, and campaigning is already beginning to ramp up.
Lee and his office claimed that his platform would be up and running by mid-January next year, and was quoted as saying:
“We are currently in the process of selecting a domestic wallet company to partner with. We will unveil the wallet address and details on our official blog, Facebook, and YouTube channels in early January.”
The report noted that this would be the “first time that a domestic politician has announced that they were prepared to receive political support in the form of cryptoassets.”
Yonhap also pointed out that in the United States, the crypto-keen Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis had previously accepted donations made in bitcoin via crypto payment providers.
Lee’s office says it is conducting the project as an “experiment,” but plans to receive up to USD 8,400 in crypto donations ahead of the March elections. The platform will cap individual crypto donations at USD 840 per donor.
The platform will also be compatible with “two or three” altcoins, in addition to BTC and ETH. However, Lee’s office has not yet decided what these coins will be. Yonhap noted that these coins were “expected to be selected from” a pool of high-cap coins listed by domestic companies.
Lee’s office says its platform is compliant with the terms of the Public Official Election Act and the Political Fund Management Rules, the protocols governing political donations.
The office added that it would update the public with details of how fiat KRW tax deductions could be applied – as, under South Korean law, all political donations are tax-deductible.
Lee was quoted as explaining:
“This is a time when innovative experiments are needed to change the perception of virtual assets and NFTs across the political spectrum. We need to boost our understanding of emerging technology.”