UK security committee chair pushes for temporary ban on crypto political donations

Written by Stephen Katte , Staff Writer Reviewed by Felix Ng , Staff Editor UK security committee chair urges temporary ban on crypto political donations 8 hours ago The Reform UK party was the first to accept crypto donations in May last year, with leader Nigel Farage announcing the group is accepting Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency contributions. Listen 0:00 News Cointelegraph in your social feed Subscribe on Join our Matt Western, chair of the UK’s Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy, has urged the government to put a temporary halt on crypto donations to political parties, citing concerns over foreign interference. In his Monday letter to Steve Reed, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Western recommended adding a “temporary moratorium” on crypto donations to the upcoming Representation of the People Bill. The moratorium would be lifted once the Electoral Commission issues statutory guidance. “We are concerned that foreign state intent to interfere in UK political finance may grow out to the next election,” Western said. “As the security environment worsens and the UK’s military role in Europe grows, the value of influencing the UK’s political positions, for example on Ukraine, or US/EU relations, is likely to increase,” he added. Matt Western’s letter to Steve Reed.