UK lawmakers are taking sides over the issue of cryptocurrencies as parliamentarians look to update campaign donation laws.
Crypto is now at the center of the UK’s debate on campaign finance reform, with some members of parliament calling for a ban on crypto donations.
Cabinet Office Minister Pat McFadden of the UK Labour Party told fellow MPs on July 14 that cryptocurrency donations to political campaigns should be banned. McFadden, who is a close ally of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, raised concerns about crypto’s possible use by foreign actors interfering in UK politics.
The MP’s comments come a month after Nigel Farage, head of the right-wing populist Reform Party, announced that his party would accept crypto donations. Parliamentarians also expect a strategy paper recommending that laws on foreign influence on UK elections be strengthened.
