The Dutch Pirate Party (DPP), along with three other parties, has picked up 19 declarations of support from the Netherlands' 20 electoral districts for the upcoming election for the House of Representatives, scheduled to take place on March 15, 2017.
According to Rotterdam-based news organization AD.nl, the DPP paid the required election registration fee (€11,250) with bitcoin!
The DPP is now the first political party in the Netherlands to complete such a transaction with a digital currency.
While Dutch authorities do not directly accept digital currencies, Michael Dulfer, board member of the Dutch Electoral Council, said DPP’s bitcoin payment was converted to euros at an online cryptocurrency exchange.
Bitcoin being accepted by politicians and political parties is nothing new. In 2015, U.S. Senator Rand Paul accepted bitcoin donations in amounts worth up to $100 for his presidential campaign.
And in December of last year, Russian presidential candidate Alexey Navalny raised more than 22 bitcoin in campaign contributions.
