"Byrne said the committee chairs are concerned political finance must be transparent, traceable and enforceable but crypto donations undermine all three. Crypto can obscure the true source of funds, enable thousands of micro donations below disclosure thresholds, and expose UK politics to foreign interference, he said. The Electoral Commission has warned that current technology makes these risks exceptionally hard to manage. Other democracies have already acted. The UK should not wait until a scandal forces our hand. This is not about opposing innovation."
"The government increasingly believes that donations made with cryptocurrency pose a risk to the integrity of the electoral system, not least because the source can be hard to verify. However, the complex nature of cryptocurrency means officials do not believe a ban will be workable by the time of the elections bill, due to be published shortly, which is set to lower the voting age to 16 and reduce loopholes in political finance."
Seven senior Labour MPs who chair parliamentary committees called on Downing Street to ban political donations made in cryptocurrency in the forthcoming elections bill. They contend that crypto donations undermine transparency, traceability and enforceability, can obscure the true source of funds, enable thousands of micro-donations below disclosure thresholds, and increase exposure to foreign interference. The Electoral Commission warned that current technology makes those risks exceptionally hard to manage. Government sources say ministers want to ban crypto donations but do not expect a workable prohibition to be ready for the elections bill, which is due soon and will lower the voting age to 16.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]