What the FEC's Bitcoin ruling means

The Federal Election Commission, in voting 6-0, ruled in a relatively narrow fashion on an request from a single political action committee known as Make Your Laws PAC.

So what does the ruling mean both for this one PAC -- and all others? A primer:

• The FEC decided that federal political committees may accept $100 worth of Bitcoin per election, per contributor. Committees "should value that contribution based on the market value of bitcoins at the time the contribution is received," the ruling states.
• What if Bitcoin skyrockets in value after a political committee accepts its $100 worth? Bully for the committee. ´
• There's a catch: The FEC isn't allowing committees to make purchases with actual Bitcoin. But it isn't prohibiting them from doing so, either.
• In a related matter, the FEC ruled that "purchasing goods or services with bitcoins" that a political committee has purchased with campaign cash is "not permissible under Commission regulations."
• Federal law states candidate committees may this cycle accept $2,600 per election from individuals. But the FEC's Bitcoin ruling only OKs acceptance of $100 worth of Bitcoin. In other words, accept more than $100 per election at your own risk.
• How about super PACs, which may raise unlimited amounts of money to advocate for or against politicians? Could they accept unlimited amounts of Bitcoin? Again, the FEC's decision did not speak to this issue.
• Must Bitcoin contributions be disclosed publicly? Yes, the FEC ruled, regardless of whether Bitcoin users want to remain anonymous.
• One important caveat, however: Since the FEC didn't rule on whether committees are allowed to directly spend Bitcoin on goods and services, it states in its ruling that "the Commission is not addressing how such purchases might be reported."
• Will the FEC consider Bitcoin contributions to be currency? Cash? And in-kind political contribution? That's not crystal clear.
• Could the FEC further regulate Bitcoin? Most certainly, although there's no immediate indication that it will.