The British government is being urged to immediately ban political donations made using cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).
A parliamentary committee in the United Kingdom (U.K.) has urged the government to impose “an immediate moratorium on crypto donations.”
The committee says that Britain’s Electoral Commission has yet to issue statutory guidelines that would govern when and how crypto firms can make donations to politicians.
Additionally, the committee said that crypto poses a risk to political finance and the public trust. The committee said rules should be prepared and implemented before the next U.K. election.
The parliamentary committee warns that crypto political donations are difficult to monitor. It points to mixers, tumblers, privacy coins and chain hopping as tools that blur the source of donations and funds.
For now, cryptocurrency donations remain legal in the U.K., even though crypto assets are treated as property rather than legal tender.
Reform U.K., the party led by Nigel Farage that leads in national polls across the U.K., is the first European political party to say it will accept donations in Bitcoin and other crypto.
There are also concerns in the U.K. that cryptocurrency firms will use money to influence election outcomes as they did in the United States.
During the 2024 U.S. election, crypto firms spent hundreds of millions of dollars to elect candidates that are supportive of digital assets, including President Donald Trump.
Bitcoin is currently trading at $72,400 U.S.
