Bitcoin boom and bust be damned: America's biggest third party is accepting donations of the electronic currency through bitpay.com, which converts the donations into U.S. dollars. Given that Bitcoin is sometimes called a "libertarian fantasy," it's not so surprising the Libertarian Party would make room for the currency in its fundraising efforts.

The currency has been gaining popularity as a mechanism for political donations since the fall of 2012, when a Republican New Hampshire state representative became the first major-party politician to accept Bitcoin donations. A libertarian candidate in North Dakota and an independent state senate candidate in Vermont also set up systems to accept Bitcoin donations in the fall. The Libertarian Party of Canada began accepting Bitcoin in March.

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