Between Hillary Clinton’s inexcusable email practices and Donald Trump’s invocation of “ the cyber ” (which is so big right now), it’d be tough to describe either of these two as the “technology candidate” in the race for the US presidency. But an email sent by Clinton campaign head John Podesta to digital strategist Teddy Goff in 2015 suggests that Hillary’s team contemplated accepting political donations in the form of virtual currency in order to keep up with Republicans who were doing the same. Interestingly, the digital currency wasn’t bitcoin, but a much less popular alternative called Ven . Unlike bitcoin, which anyone with an internet connection can use, Ven is the in-house currency of a kind of international business travel club called Hub Culture . With Ven, club members can buy totally normal and relatable things like Hub Culture-branded rosé , tickets to events like a tobogganing meet-up at the Davos world economic forum in Switzerland (dinner and wine included), and pieces of contemporary art . Ven has an environmentally friendly side too, since Hub Club uses the money it makes off the currency to purchase carbon offsets. The club’s site claims the club has “put over 25,000 acres of Amazon rainforest under protection” using the currency. The email, released by Wikileaks, shows that Hub Club founder Stan Stalnaker approached Podesta at a Clinton fundraiser in London during May of 2015, and pitched Ven as a way for Democrats to keep up with Republicans using virtual currencies. The month prior to that, Republican Rand Paul had begun accepting bitcoin donations to fund his presidential bid. “As we discussed, bitcoin is being used on the Republican side and could be a useful tool,” Stalnaker wrote, “but we think Ven is a better choice for your campaign due to its […]
