UK political parties remain divided over digital assets as Labour MPs push to outlaw crypto donations.
United Kingdom observers have raised concerns over an increase in crypto-related leanings in the country after reports of Elon Musk speaking at Whitehall last week at an event where most of the sponsors were crypto firms.
The pattern, highlighted by UK observers, showed that right-wing movements were leaning towards decentralized digital currencies.
One of the major sponsors, Athena Bitcoin Global, has been accused of profiting from cybercrime in the United States. Earlier this month, the attorney general for the District of Columbia Brian Schwalb accused the company of knowingly profiting from scams that have targeted elderly victims of large sums of money.
Athena, one of the companies that makes Bitcoin ATMs, allows users to exchange cash for digital assets and vice versa. In the lawsuit filed against the company, the DC attorney general alleged that about 93% of the deposits in that district in its first five months were the product of fraud.
Reports claimed that one elderly victim allegedly lost $98,000 over the course of three days after being exploited by criminals.
The lawsuit claimed that the average age of the victims was 71, noting that Athena did little to nothing to prevent the fraud. Not only has Athena done little to nothing to prevent this fraud,” the lawsuit stated, “but it has instead pocketed hundreds of thousands of dollars in undisclosed fees on the backs of scam victims and adopted policies to prevent these victims from recovering any of their losses.”
Over the past months, authorities in the United Kingdom have warned about the threats that digital assets pose to democracy in the UK. They claimed that it has enabled hostile state actors and foreign nationals to secretly donate to political parties.
Speaking about the issue, Tom Keating, director of the Royal United Service Institute’s Centre for Finance and Security, said, “The average person in the UK might think of it as being a marginal thing, but in that [far-right] community – which is a growing community – it’s mainstream.”
Matias Goldenhörn, the chief executive of Athena, also released a statement saying, “Athena believes the UK must break free from anti-free speech tyranny if it is to endure as a Western nation. We were proud to sponsor the rally.”
Alleging that the company has been a target of a smear campaign, he said Bitcoin is “the free speech of money,” noting that attempts to suppress speech or financial freedom only prove why it matters.
Cryptocurrency transactions can be easily obscured, and there are fears that involvement in the UK political system could lead to uncontrolled levels of cash from hostile states or organized crime. For example, in Moldova, President Maia Sandu has warned that Russia is planning an interference campaign in its forthcoming elections, including deploying more than $100 million in crypto.
In May, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage announced at a conference in Las Vegas that his party would become the first in Europe to accept cryptocurrencies as donations. However, senior Labour MP leaders have shared their fears about the prospect of crypto-based donations and are urging ministers to delay the much-anticipated elections bill, creating a change in electoral oversight laws to include a clause banning them.
Countries like Ireland, Greenland, and Brazil have all outlawed crypto donations. In the UK, MPs fear that crypto can also be manipulated to artificially lower valuations so they can fall below the reporting thresholds, or AI can be used to make thousands of donations below the reporting thresholds at a time.
Labour MP Liam Byrne, who is part of the joint committee on national security strategy, said, “Ministers should not present the bill until they have put in place platinum-plated provisions around crypto.”
