UK Lawmakers Urge Government to Ban Crypto Donations to Political Parties

Seven senior Labour MPs are urging the UK government to ban cryptocurrency donations to political parties, citing risks to political transparency.

According to a report from The Guardian, MPs want the ban included in the upcoming elections bill to ensure political finance is transparent, traceable, and free from foreign influence. Cryptocurrencies, however, can conceal funding sources and expose UK politics to interference.

UK MPs Call for Ban on Crypto Political Donations

The MPs pushing for the ban, who are also chairpersons of parliamentary committees, include Liam Byrne, Emily Thornberry, Tan Dhesi, Florence Eshalomi, Andy Slaughter, Chi Onwurah, and Matt Western.

Some UK ministers already made a similar move last year; however, the proposed laws are likely not to be ready for the election bill, which is due in the coming weeks. The government intends to release more details about the legislation after the election bill is published.

The seven senior MPs wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Kier Starmer, raising concerns about the need for a crypto political donation ban. In the letter, Byrne explained that crypto donations undermine the transparency and traceability needed for political finance. He insisted that cryptocurrencies can enable micro donations below disclosure thresholds, and their complex nature may impose risks that are hard to manage.

Protecting Democracy

Additionally, Byrne wrote that other democracies have taken a stand against crypto political donations. He urged the UK government not to wait till a scandal before protecting democracy.

Besides the group of senior Labour MPs pushing for the ban, several campaign groups, such as Spotlight on Corruption, also believe crypto donations are risky for democracy. Taking the move a step further, Susan Hawley, the executive director of Spotlight on Corruption, called for a criminal offence that would make it more difficult for foreign money to enter UK politics.

“We know that bad actors like Russia use crypto to undermine and interfere in democracies globally, while the difficulties involved in tracing the true source of transactions mean that British voters may not know everyone who’s funding the parties they vote for,” Hawley stated.

It is worth noting that the ban, if implemented, will affect some political parties that have begun accepting crypto donations. One such party is Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, which became the first to accept crypto donations. The party has opened a portal to receive crypto contributions and even accepted a whopping £9 million ($12 million) from prominent crypto investor, Christopher Harborne.