39 Engaged Citizens Made Bitcoin Donations to Congressman Jared Polis's Campaign

Democratic Rep. Jared Polis, who is nationally known for his goofy bow-ties, is now the first member of Congress to get significant donations in the form of Bitcoin.

Democratic Rep. Jared Polis, who is nationally known for his goofy bow-ties, is now the first member of Congress to get significant donations in the form of Bitcoin. After the FEC ruled last Thursday that political committees could accept Bitcoin donations in limited amounts, Polis announced that his campaign would officially accept the cryptocurrency. So far, he's raised $1,500 worth of BTC from 39 voters, according to Dave Levinthal at the Center for Public Integrity.

Polis certainly "dares" to be different, and that's part of his charm. He's one of the wealthiest members of Congress — in 2012, the Center for Responsive Politics estimated his net worth to be around $330 million. He made that money buying and selling internet companies in the 1990s. Now, he's running for a fourth term in his left-leaning Colorado district. At the end of March, his campaign reported it had $300,000 on hand.

Polis isn't getting too crazy, however. His campaign won't accept Dogecoin (which just got hacked, anyway). Campaign manager Elizabeth Kaufman tells the CPI that they have "no immediate plans to take other forms of digital currency being that Bitcoin is the only one the FEC has issued guidelines on."