Bitcoin continues to make inroads all over the world, including the political ecosystem. The Dutch Pirate party secured the necessary funds to put down a security deposit so they could participate in the upcoming elections on March 15. However, the funds have been collected in bitcoin, which is not an accepted payment method for the electoral council. As a result, the Pirate party had to resort to an online exchange, and have their bitcoin funds convert to Euros.
Dutch Pirate Party Makes Headlines
It is rather intriguing to see a political party put down their security deposit in bitcoin. Or to be more precise, that is what the Dutch Pirate party attempted to do. Unfortunately, they were not successful in their attempt, as the electoral council does not accept bitcoin payments directly. Instead, the party had to convert 11,250 euro worth of BTC to fiat currency through an online exchange platform.
On March 15, The Netherlands will hold their Lower House elections. With the deadline drawing closer, aspiring political parties are scrambling to ensure they make it on the voter’s ballots. To do so, they need enough support from the Dutch districts, as well as pay an 11,250 Euro security to the electoral council. The Dutch Pirate party, together with three other political parties, gained the necessary support and funds to ensure they are included on the March 15 ballots.
One thing very few people seem to realize about the Dutch Pirate party is how they accept bitcoin donations. In fact, they have done so for quite some time. It is not entirely surprising the party had the required security funds in their bitcoin account, even though they were unable to spend it directly. Bitcoin, as well as other cryptocurrencies and virtual currencies, are not accepted as a payment method to pay for a ballot listing for upcoming elections.
Thankfully, the Dutch Pirate party was able to use an online exchange to complete their security deposit with bitcoin. It is unfortunate these intermediary steps have to be taken to spend bitcoin for these purposes, although it is expected this situation will not change anytime soon. Even though The Netherlands is rather open-minded towards cryptocurrency, it will take some time until it becomes a widespread payment solution in the country.
It remains to be seen how many votes the Dutch Pirate party will get. In Iceland, the party nearly succeeded in becoming the largest party in the country in 2016. Even though they did not succeed in this objective, the party has been invited by the Icelandic president to form a government. Since none of the seven parties or alliances in Iceland obtained a clear majority, the anti-establishment Pirate party is given a golden opportunity. For now, it remains unclear if this decision will be successful, though.
Rest assured the Lower House Elections in The Netherlands will be quite interesting to keep an eye on. There is some political turmoil in the country, and the Pirate party seems to be gaining more support every year. Moreover, their preference to deal with Bitcoin is of great value to the cryptocurrency community as well. Exciting times are ahead, that much is certain.
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