Moritz Schmidt’s donation of $1.2 million to the Greens made headlines this month, as the party traditionally receives only small sums. Such a large gift is rare in German politics.
“I have benefitted immensely from the bitcoin bubble.
The 39-year-old from the northeastern town of Greifswald, who hadn’t previously featured on any lists of major political donors, said he bought “a couple thousand euros” worth of bitcoin in 2011, shortly before it crashed, wiping 90% off the value of his holdings.
Schmidt, who made about $2.4 million by gradually selling his bitcoin over the years, said he learned in 2017 that the virtual currency consumes a vast amount of electricity.
While the party doesn’t mention bitcoin’s environmental footprint in its program, it does want such currencies to be “traceable” — making bitcoin less attractive to many of its fans.