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Abbott to Start Accepting Bitcoin Donations

Attorney General Greg Abbott announced Thursday his campaign would accept campaign donations in Bitcoin and treat the contributions as in-kind donations.

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Following in the footsteps of U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman and the Libertarian Party of Texas, Attorney General Greg Abbott announced Thursday that his campaign would accept campaign donations in Bitcoin, a virtual currency.

"The spirit of Bitcoin embodies the free market principles that make Texas a leader in innovation and entrepreneurship," Abbott said. "We welcome the Bitcoin community to join our team."

The Texas Banking Commission announced last week in a memo that it would not treat virtual currencies like Bitcoin as legal money, but rather as an asset. The IRS made a similar determination last month. As such, Abbott's camp said it would treat Bitcoin donations as in-kind donations.

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