Per several unnamed sources, relayed by Taiwanese media, Hsiao Hsin-Chen, a Taipei-based politician, has just “made history” by becoming the first individual to accept a donation via cryptocurrency while running for a governmental position. According to the local news outlet, Taiwan News, Hsin-Chen is currently running for Taipei city council and opened up his campaign to donations from anyone and everyone.

As aforementioned, the politician has reportedly received 10,000 New Taiwan Dollars ($325 USD) worth of Bitcoin, which is apparently the stipulated limit for non-cash donations, like cryptocurrency, stock, etc, to any political-related campaign, as imposed by local rules and regulations.

Interestingly enough, this donation was a long-time coming, as Hsiao announced in August that he could be accepting contributions made with cryptocurrency, but didn’t specify what exact tokens and coins he would be open to receiving. This move is just more than a money grab, as the politician is seeking to promote technological innovation in Taipei, with crypto assets, blockchain technologies and other futuristic innovations evidently being integral to that goal.

 

Moreover, Hsin-Chen explained that the use of cryptocurrencies may help to mitigate unfair and corrupt practices enlisted by malicious governmental officials. The potential Taipei city council member explained:

Accepting Bitcoin as a political donation is more symbolic than the act appears.

 

This move follows California’s Fair Political Practices Commision act to ban cryptocurrency donations that pertain to political objectives, as reported by the Associated Press. According to the report, the campaign watchdog organization had voted 3 to 1 to ban such donation types, as the origin of the crypto holdings donated are up for question and may “raise questions about transparency.”

In related news, South Carolina has recently made a similar move, while Colorado and Montana accept cryptocurrency donations, but with harsh restrictions in place to ensure that financial risk is mitigated.

While state-side cryptocurrency donations have been struck down repeatedly, the Federal Elections Commision is still open to allowing individuals to donate to federal candidates with Bitcoin, and Bitcoin only.

 

It Taiwan A Crypto Capital?

Even though many of Taiwan’s neighbors are hesitant to accept cryptocurrencies with open arms, the island nation still seems to be open to becoming a crypto capital of the world, so to speak. Taiwan regulators reportedly intend to integrate smart technology into legacy systems over the coming decades, recognizing that digital assets and blockchain technology will play a key role in that process.

A Taiwanese startup, named Green World Fintech Services, announced that it had plans to launch a new stablecoin tied to the value of one NTD in early July of this year. The project, which will involve the so-called “Taiwan Digital Token,” will reportedly be placing the stablecoin on the Ethereum network as an ERC-20 token.

Green World attempts to build on what other stablecoins have accomplished, by reportedly patenting a “dollar to token” process that will hopefully protect the token from use in illicit activities, like fraud and money laundering. There hasn’t been much news on the project lately, but many proponents of stablecoins believe that this form of cryptocurrency will only increase the adoption and maturation of this market on a global scale.

So yes, it would be fair to say that Taiwan is an up and coming crypto capital in this budding industry.

Photo by Joyce Romero on Unsplash